Crime & Safety
Death of Baby Found in Trash Can Ruled a Homicide
Prosecutors will now decide whether to charge the mother with murder after the coroner determines the newborn died of asphyxia.
A newborn girl who was found dead in a trash can in Redondo Beach in March died of asphyxia, the coroner's office said Thursday night.
The death has been classified a homicide, and the district attorney will now determine whether to charge the baby's 24-year-old mother, Jessie Lauren Canfield, with murder.
The baby was found by refuse collectors March 3 in a trash container in front of a Redondo Beach home. Canfield apparently gave birth at a house on Irena Avenue while attending a party.
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When the Redondo Union High School graduate was arrested on suspicion of murder in Santa Barbara later that day, she told police that she didn't know she was pregnant.
Canfield was released from Redondo Beach jail pending a complete autopsy report on the baby.
Find out what's happening in Redondo Beachfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
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