When a pregnant woman entered the Subway store, the cashier didn’t know that she’d would have one hell of a story to tell just ten minutes later.
It was a pleasant day in West Covenia, California when 37-year-old Mary Grace Trinidad came into the store and asked to use its bathroom. She emerged from the bathroom ten minutes later, bleeding and no longer pregnant.
The horrified employee watched as the woman casually walked out of the store’s doors. When she rushed to the bathroom, she saw what looked like a scene from a horror film.
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Blood pooled on the tiled floor, and at the center of it all was a crying newborn submerged in the toilet, with the umbilical cord hanging from the toilet’s lip.
Calling 911, the cashier was visibly shaken as she spoke to the 911 operator. “There is a pregnant lady, she just gave birth in the restroom and she just walked out,” she said.
The firefighters quickly arrived and removed the baby.
The police on reported that Mary Grace gave birth in the restroom then fled, leaving the placenta in the trash can.
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The abandoned baby boy was hospitalized in critical condition, but the specifics of his health were prohibited by federal health privacy law to be released.
That same day, the police followed the trail of blood from the restaurant and found Mary Grace in an alleyway not far from the Subway. She was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and child abandonment.
The West Covina Police Department also revealed that Mary Grace had previously been arrested for possession of a controlled substance and of drug paraphernalia.
In Los Angeles County, newborns under 27 hours old may be surrendered at any hospital or fire station without criminal charges. The Police Department released Mary Grace’s photo as well as the video to bring awareness to California’s safe surrender law.
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