Mom of newborn left under tree has been found
|Published
A teenager from Cassandra said that she found the baby, now known as “Baby Cassie”, “covered in blood and placenta with her umbilical cord still attached, under a tree next to the road”. Picture: Danie van der Lith A teenager from Cassandra said that she found the baby, now known as “Baby Cassie”, “covered in blood and placenta with her umbilical cord still attached, under a tree next to the road”. Picture: Danie van der Lith
Kimberley – The mother of a newborn baby girl, who was found abandoned after birth in a veld in Kimberley last week, has been found.
Police last week opened attempted murder charges after a 19-year-old teenager from Cassandra said that she found the baby, now known as “Baby Cassie”, “covered in blood and placenta with her umbilical cord still attached, under a tree next to the road”.
Shortly after the discovery, the visibly shaken teenager, who had blood and afterbirth on her T-shirt, told the DFA that she had found the naked, uncovered baby after following “the cries of a baby” and informed authorities after “taking the child inside her house and wrapping her in a blanket”.
She chose to remain anonymous.
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The discovery sparked outrage among Kimberley residents, who lashed out against the mother for leaving her newborn baby “to die like an animal”.
The baby was transported to Kimberley Hospital, where she is still being treated, according to Northern Cape Department of Health spokeswoman, Lulu Mxekezo.
Police spokeswoman, Lieutenant-Colonel Dimakatso Mooi, confirmed on Tuesday that the baby’s “19-year-old mother had been found”.
Mooi could, however, not confirm whether the mother had come forward on her own or if she had been identified following the police investigation.
Mooi also remained tight-lipped about what charges the mother would be facing and when a court appearance could be expected.
When asked if the baby had been reunited with her mother, Mooi only stated that the 19-year-old mother was currently “with social workers” and that “the process would take its course”.