A young couple has been charged with homicide after their newborn baby was found dead on a sidewalk in the small town of McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania.
Joshua Wooters, 19, and Emily Dickinson, 20, (yes, an unfortunate coincidence of a name) were both officially charged this week with criminal homicide, conspiracy, misdemeanor concealment of the death of a child, and abuse of a corpse after their newborn infant died just hours after it was birthed in their apartment. Even more disgusting, not only did the couple’s actions contribute to the infant’s death, per cops, they’re accused of throwing the baby out a second-story window and letting it perish on the sidewalk below! WTF?!?!
Related: Bryan Kohberger Trial Date FINALLY Set — For Nearly 3 YEARS After Idaho Murders
The incident in question occurred on the morning of March 11. At about 8:45 a.m. local time, a passerby found a dead newborn baby boy on a sidewalk along North 2nd Street in McConnellsburg. Cops showed up to investigate, and eventually determined Dickinson had just given birth in a second floor apartment above the street where the dead infant was discovered.
Further investigation by troopers from the Pennsylvania State Police also uncovered a placenta nearby, along with a trash heap that included a blood-stained mattress. A coroner’s evaluation later determined the infant was less than 24 hours old at the time of its death. Also, that death was officially caused by heavy bleeding via “exsanguination from the umbilical stump.”
Later that same day, as troopers begin to piece together who they believed to have left the baby in the street, they interviewed Wooters. Per Fox 17 News, he denied knowing anything about the child. When questioned, he even told cops that he was a virgin, and claimed he had never had “S-E-X,” which he spelled out instead of saying the word. Uh, what the f**k?!
Cops were suspicious, so they executed a search warrant on the couple’s apartment — the very same one directly above the street where the baby was found. Sure enough, the warrant uncovered blood in the bedroom of the apartment, as well as on the bathroom windowsill. Subsequent DNA tests done on the infant’s corpse, which finally came back this week, confirmed the child belonged to Wooters and Dickinson.
Finally, after being confronted with all the evidence, Wooters began to talk. Per the Daily Voice local newspaper, he told police he’d lied earlier because his “first reaction of something that’s traumatic for me is, um, to lie.” This man was a child. JFC.
He told investigators Dickinson had begun to go into labor when he was still asleep. By the time he woke up, he claimed, she had cut the umbilical cord with a knife but failed to clamp it to stem the bleeding. He then alleged Dickinson picked up the baby like a person would “pick up dog poop” before tossing the infant out of the open window. Shocked, he yelled at her:
“What the f**k did you do?”
Then, per Fox 17 News, he allegedly helped dispose of the bloody mattress as well as other items that were placed in a trash bag and — you guessed it — tossed out the window.
Related: Arrest FINALLY Made In Hiker Rachel Morin’s Murder Case!
As for Dickinson, she told police she wasn’t aware she was pregnant until about a month before she gave birth. She said she looked into options for either abortion or adoption during that month, but didn’t move forward with either choice. She also told cops she didn’t go to an OB/GYN at any point due to financial issues.
Regarding the birth itself, Dickinson allegedly told them the child was alive after it was born but stopped moving once she cut the umbilical cord. She told police she was “hallucinating” and “wasn’t thinking clearly” at the time she threw the baby out the window. She’d thought it was already dead by then. Horrifically, she also said she never attempted to perform CPR on the baby — despite the fact… wait for it… she’s a certified nurse! And neither of them called 911 for help at any point either! Wow. Just… wow.
After being charged this week, both were booked into jail and denied bail. Their next joint court appearance is set for July 10. What a terrible, sickening, and totally unnecessary tragedy…
[Image via Bedford County Jail]