INDICTED FOR THE UNTHINKABLE

Seeking justice for Baby Angel

For any loving parent it’s the unthinkable. Maria Oliva Guaman-Guaman has been indicted in the “Baby Angel” case for allegedly strangling to death her own newborn son.

A deceased infant–umbilical cord still attached–was found in a recycling bin in Yonkers on November 12 sparking a regional interest in the case. Eventually investigators traced the evidence back to Spring Valley and then to the child’s mother.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe announced that Guaman-Guaman of 41 North Myrtle Avenue in Spring Valley has been indicted by a grand jury on one count of murder in the second degree, a class A-1 felony. If convicted she faces 25 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors allege that upon Guaman-Guaman depositing the deceased child into a recycling bin, the dumpster was transported to Brookfield Recycling at 13 Hayes Street in Elmsford, New York, where a worker discovered the infant late on November 12. The body was found in a plastic bag amid discarded cardboard.

After a probe into the circumstances of the child’s death led detectives from the Westchester County Department of Public Safety to the Village of Spring Valley, investigators quickly focused on the area near the Maple Avenue Convenience Store. Discarded items, including lottery tickets sold at the location, were found among the trash discarded with the infant.

District Attorney Zugibe said, “According to the charges, this defendant senselessly and needlessly killed her newborn son. That a mother could allegedly inflict such brutality on her own helpless child is beyond comprehension. She must be severely punished.”

The defendant was identified as the baby’s mother based on DNA samples provided to police. The investigation into the circumstances of the child’s death is ongoing. Said Zugibe, “This tragic case should serve as a reminder that, under New York’s Safe Haven law, a parent can anonymously surrender an unwanted newborn baby to personnel in a safe place, such as a hospital, a police station or a firehouse, without repercussions.”

Guaman-Guaman, a native of Ecuador who is in the United States illegally, was remanded to the Rockland County Jail without bail. Her next court date will be on January 6, 2014.  The defendant faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. Executive Assistant District Attorney Stephen Moore is prosecuting the case.