Columbia Woman Charged With Murder In Death Of Newborn: Police

COLUMBIA, MD — Police said that a Columbia woman has been charged with murder in the death of her newborn. The baby boy was in a zipped plastic bag when officials found him under blankets in a closet, according to authorities.

Moira Akers, 38, is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center after being arrested Wednesday night at her home in the 7300 block of Carved Stone, police reported.

The arrest came after more than five months of investigation.

Officers were called to the woman's Columbia home on Nov. 1, 2018, after paramedics took Akers to Howard County General Hospital, police said.

Investigators determined she had recently given birth inside the residence and discovered a baby boy zipped in a plastic bag, placed under blankets in a closet, officials reported.

He was deceased, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner recently completed the autopsy report and ruled the death a homicide, caused by asphyxiation and exposure, police said in a statement on Thursday, April 25.

The infant was "full-term and alive at birth," the Howard County Police Department reported.

When they looked at the online browsing history of Akers, investigators said they found multiple searches of how to terminate a pregnancy.

Akers has been charged with first and second-degree murder as well as first and second-degree assault, according to court records, which date the offense as Nov. 1, 2018.