Florida Mom Accused Of Dumping Baby In Dumpster

A Lake Ridge, Florida woman is behind bars after allegedly giving birth to a live baby and then wrapping him in a towel, stuffing him in a pillow case, and leaving him to die in the garbage.

Whether suspect Alexandria Sladon-Marler harbors a lack of respect for the dignity of human life or whether she is simply the victim of mental illness is something that will likely be determined by the courts, but police to know that Sladon-Marler was admitted to the Broward General Medical Center August 10, likely after committing infanticide.

NBC News reports she told the staff she had recently had an abortion, but the medical evidence didn’t back up her claim, and hospital officials informed police that the woman had most likely given birth. Police searched the hotel where Sladon-Marler was staying and found an “unusual amount of blood” in the hotel room. This prompted the search that found the newborn’s body. The child was a boy.

But whether Sladon-Marler is a callous killer or a disturbed person is a matter of some debate. A member of the community tells the New York Daily News that Sladon-Marler was a troubled woman whose numerous run ins with police should have been seen as a cry for help.

“A lot of people need to realize that mental illness is not a criminal offense,” Mary Rhodes, former head of the neighborhood’s Community for a Better Lake Ridge told the Daily News. “Maybe if we were more tolerant there would be a live baby today.”

Sladon-Marler, 33, faces aggravated manslaughter and child neglect charges for the death of her newborn son.