Woman tried to flush newborn down hospital toilet, left baby in trash, police say

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Chilling reports detail what police say an Iowa woman did after unexpectedly delivering a baby in the bathroom of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

Ashley Hautzenrader, 22, faces a charge of child endangerment after giving birth in the bathroom, trying to flush the baby down the toilet — she thought it was dead — and tossing it in a trash can, the Press-Citizen reports.

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Hautzenrader, police say, didn’t know she was pregnant and thought the baby was dead because it wasn’t crying. After that, she put the child in a pillowcase and threw it in a trash can.

It’s not immediately clear what condition the baby is in.

Hautzenrader faces a charge of child endangerment, which could land her up to two years in prison. She was released from the Johnson County Jail on Tuesday.

Cox Media Group