Police investigating report of baby left on porch; New details add context to situation
By Terell Bailey
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DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — The Detroit Police Department confirmed that it responded to a call concerning a baby found on a porch on Thanksgiving night.
Police responded to a home on Cruse Street near Fenkell Avenue. Police said their child abuse unit is investigating.
However, CBS News Detroit spoke with a source who confirmed the child wasn’t left on the porch. A teenage family member at the home, in fact, gave birth to the child, according to the source.
On Friday, a family member told CBS News Detroit that a teenager living at the Cruse Street home was pregnant, and that the family was unaware of the news. When the family initially received the news that a child was on the porch, the police were contacted.
Attorney Jeff Abood with Abood Law believes charges could be forthcoming.
“If somebody were to abandon an infant or child, then they could face criminal charges,” Abood told CBS News Detroit.
In 2001, a safe delivery law was implemented in Michigan. It allows parents to surrender their newborn child, no more than 3 days old, to any uniformed on-duty employee at a hospital, fire department, or police station. State records show nearly 400 babies have been safely surrendered in Michigan.
“You could do that without any sort of criminal responsibility, assuming it was done properly and done right,” Abood said.
With these latest developments, Detroit police haven’t said what will happen next.
According to the family member who talked to CBS News Detroit, the baby and mother are in the hospital and expected to be OK.
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