Teen charged with killing her newborn

PADUCAH, Ky. - Police say they've arrested a western Kentucky teen and charged her with murder in the death of her newborn daughter.

Detective Matt Smith told The Paducah Sun that the infant was found in November in a plastic clothes bag in the teen's closet, but charges weren't brought until autopsy results and lab work came back from the medical examiner's office.

The 18-year-old was arrested Monday, but her name wasn't released because she was 17 when the infant died.

Police said the teen had called a friend and told her she had the baby at home and it had died. The friend then called police.

"It was tough to be patient for that long, especially in a case that rattled us this much," Smith said. "But when it all came together, we went ahead as quickly as possible."

He said the teen originally told police that she gave birth in the bathroom, cleaned the infant, and then laid her on a bed and took pictures of her before deleting them. However, she gave a different account of what happened when police questioned her again on Monday.

Smith said the teen had told only one friend that she was pregnant.

Police Detective Brian Laird said there were other options if she didn't want the child.

"There are people all over this area that would have loved to care for that baby," Laird said. "And there are laws that allow people to give up newborns anonymously. She could have done that. There is a lot she could have done."