A North Whitehall Township woman has been charged with homicide more than a year after investigators discovered the remains of a newborn inside a paint can in her basement, Lehigh County prosecutors said Wednesday.
Ashley Carabello, 30, was charged with homicide in a gruesome case that began with a visit to a hospital in October 2017.
Doctors who examined Carabello at the hospital said the woman showed signs indicating she recently had given birth, according to The Morning Call.
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The exam, which revealed a section of an umbilical cord still attached to placental tissue, led doctors to conclude Carabello had "ripped out" her child from her womb.
Despite Carabello's denial of having given birth, investigators searched the home she shared with her partner and five children. Authorities allegedly found a baby boy stuffed inside a backpack and placed in a five-gallon paint can.
Prosecutors said a lengthy period of forensic testing showed the baby was born alive at full term and may have died from asphyxia or hypothermia.
Carabello was charged with homicide, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse. The father of the child will not face criminal charges and Carabello's five children have been placed in the custody of youth services.