Baby found buried in backyard of Louisburg home
LOUISBURG, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Franklin County Sheriff's Office is investigating the discovery of a newborn baby found dead in Louisburg.
Deputies told ABC11 that the body of a full-term, 8 pound baby girl was found buried in a brown bag around 10 p.m. Sunday in the Fox Ridge subdivision.
The medical examiner is trying to determine if the baby was alive at birth, or stillborn. There were no apparent injuries according to authorities.
The sheriff said the teen's father found the newborn just hours after his daughter gave birth.
"He noticed a tool was out of place, and that led him further," said Franklin County Sheriff Jerry Jones. "Then, he noticed some earth had been disturbed, and so he began to pry and poke around. And then he found a deceased baby in a shallow grave in a brown bag."
It happened at a home the teen shared with her parents on South Creek Drive in the Fox Ridge Farms neighborhood.
The sheriff said another teenager who saw a text message about the incident tipped off authorities.
When deputies showed up to the house, the sheriff said the girl was at work and the teen's parents had no idea what had happened. They likely didn't even know the girl was pregnant.
However, after searching the home, the girl's father made the gruesome discovery.
Right now, authorities believe the teen acted alone, and they are sending out a plea.
"Anybody that gets in this situation, there are options. There are safe havens," said Jones. "North Carolina has done a lot to protect young children and newborns. There is somewhere to drop them off. There are hospitals for them to go to to say, 'Hey I'm having this baby and I'm too young, or financially I can't afford it. I need some help.' All of those options are better than the shock and the pain that several people will follow."
No charges have been filed yet.
The sheriff's office is working with the Franklin County district attorney's office to figure out the next steps.
The teen mother remains at WakeMed, and officials are not releasing her name. The name of the baby's father has not been released.
