Police say 17-year-old mother arrested after digging hole in backyard to bury dead newborn

MARIETTA, Ga. (WANF/Gray News) – Police in Georgia say a 17-year-old mother is facing charges after she was allegedly seen digging a hole in her backyard in an attempt to bury her newborn baby.

Marietta Police say officers responded to a home around 3 p.m. Sunday after receiving a report of a possible “newborn baby” death. When the police came home, they found a dead baby in the house. WANF reports.

Investigators worked throughout the night conducting interviews and gathering evidence. It was stated that the baby’s mother, 17-year-old Leticia Rodriguez, was arrested and taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police said Rodriguez was seen digging a hole in the backyard six hours after giving birth to a little boy. When his uncle saw the backyard being dug up, he called the police.

“We discovered that the dead baby’s mother dug a hole in the backyard to create this situation. The baby was never actually buried,” said Marietta Police Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy.

Investigators say after Rodriguez is released from the hospital, he will be booked into the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where he will be held without bail on felony charges of concealing a death, mistreating a corpse and abandoning a body.

Neighbor Theresa Neill was shocked to see the view outside her window Monday morning.

“I stood up and kept looking out the window. There were one or two people going through the house and scanning the house. So it’s really scary when something like this comes along,” Neill said. “This shocks me. I mean, this really shocks me. “There are a lot of kids playing in the neighborhood and it really pains me to think of something like this happening.”

Neill lives just across the street from where the baby was found and hopes more answers will emerge.

“I’ve been here 30 years, and to my knowledge, nothing like this has ever happened in this neighborhood,” he said. “It is heartbreaking that something like this has come to light and my heart goes out to everyone who has lost their children.”

Officials say additional fees may apply after the medical examiner determines the baby’s exact cause of death.

“The medical examiner is in possession of the deceased baby, and it is their responsibility to determine whether this baby was born alive, whether or not it is viable, what its exact age is and what the cause of death was,” McPhilamy said.

The investigation continues.

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