A young, married mother faces charges Tuesday of giving birth in a toilet at a South Carolina sports and concert arena and leaving the choking newborn boy to die.
Jessica Blackham was arrested after she came to the Greenville police station accompanied by family members. Police Chief Terri Wilfong said the 25-year-old from Easley has a 4-year-old child and no criminal record.
"The family is very cooperative with us," Wilfong said. "Their concern is the safety of the child."
Blackham is charged with two counts of felony child abuse and one count of unlawful neglect toward a child. If convicted on all charges, she could face up to 50 years in prison.
Authorities said she was being held without bond after being arraigned at the local jail and would be appointed an attorney. Her first court appearance was not immediately set.
Officials said they could not immediately explain what Blackham was thinking when she gave birth Friday night at the Bi-Lo Center where she was attending a circus performance. Arena workers found the asphyxiating child in the cold toilet water.
Prosecutor Walt Wilkins said the charges are serious because the infant was abandoned for at least 90 minutes.
"During that time a newborn needs to be in a warm atmosphere," he said, adding the child was choking when arena workers found him.
"Workers saved that baby's life," Wilfong said.
Authorities would not discuss the identity of the infant's father.
The baby was found suffering from hypothermia, which an expert said is one of the biggest risks for babies born away from medical care. The condition could lead to infection or breathing problems if not treated quickly.
"When a baby is moist and has exposure of its skin to the air, it will lose heat very rapidly," said Dr. Christopher Robinson, a fetal and maternal medicine professor at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.
Roger Newton, president and general manager of the 13-year-old Bi-Lo Center in downtown Greenville, said he'd never encountered anything like this in his 33 years of managing arenas from Ottawa, Canada, to Miami, Fla.
The manager said he'd had to deal with a death during his career, but never a birth. He said the cleaning crew members deserved high praise for how they handled it.
"They did everything they should have, and we're very proud of them," he said.
Residents in this conservative region said they were shocked by the boy's discovery and concerned about both mother and child.
"It's unfortunate that anyone has to go that far, and wouldn't know what to do," said Lorna Sexton, 54, of nearby Taylors. "It broke my heart to hear it. Let's hope the girl, the woman, is able to get some help."
Sexton said she'd read about the case in the paper, and that people had been talking about it at the coffee shop where she works.
Rampey said the infant was admitted to Greenville Memorial Hospital in critical condition. Evidence in the women's bathroom indicated the baby was born there.
Rampey said officials put out a plea for help from the public to help identify the mother and child after investigators searched through surveillance tapes. The video checks were difficult because thousands of people attended the circus, he said.
Police were referring inquiries about adopting the newborn to social services, Rampey said.