DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - A 17-year-old Iowa boy faces charges in connection to the death of his 4-month-old son, weeks after the baby was adopted and then returned to his birth mother.
The teenager has been charged with neglect of a dependent person after he allegedly left the infant alone in an apartment Tuesday night, The Des Moines Register reported (https://dmreg.co/1iQYBpA ). The baby was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The Associated Press generally does not name juveniles charged with crimes.
The baby was cared for by adoptive parents, Rachel and Heidi McFarland of Ankeny, until mid-March. That’s when the infant’s birth mother changed her mind and sought his return.
“We brought him home from the hospital,” Rachel McFarland said. “I cut his umbilical cord.”
The couple learned of the infant’s death from television news.
“It’s like he’s been taken away from you again,” Rachel McFarland said.
The birth mother told police she left the baby with the father in an apartment while she went to the library and attended to errands. She returned to the apartment after a friend who passed by the residence called her, concerned about the baby.
The friend told police she saw the teen father drive away from the apartment complex without the baby. He was later located by police.
Police say more charges could be filed in the case. Additional information about the baby’s death has not been released. He was found in a chair, with a bottle beside him. The baby had a white substance around his mouth.
Rachel McFarland said she and her wife have unanswered questions, but they have a lot of support.
“I refuse to let them ruin our lives,” she said. “We’re just left to put the pieces back together.”
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
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