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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, May 4, 2001

Autopsy shows baby in trash was asphyxiated

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau

LIHU'E, Kaua'i — A newborn boy found in an outdoor trash can Monday died by asphyxiation, an autopsy has determined.

Police are treating the case as a homicide and have arrested the woman they believe to be the mother.

The 21-year-old woman, who lived with her parents in a Pala'a Street home in Koloa, was arrested at noon yesterday at her home on suspicion of second-degree murder. She was released at about 1:30 p.m. pending further investigation.

Police Chief George Freitas said the case was not yet ready to submit to prosecutors.

Dr. Anthony Manoukian, a forensic pathologist, conducted the autopsy and concluded that the infant died by asphyxiation. That means the infant was breathing after birth and then his breathing was stopped by suffocation, choking or other means.

Manoukian's examination found that the infant's heart, lungs and other vital organs were not malformed. There were no outward signs of injury.

Authorities said the woman appeared to have given birth to a healthy child at her home, and may have done so without assistance.

What happened between then and about noon Monday, when a neighbor called for an ambulance, is not known.

Medical workers found the woman hemorrhaging and took her to Wilcox Memorial Hospital. There, doctors realized she had given birth and asked paramedics to return to the home to look for the baby.

The woman was released from the hospital yesterday morning.