HoCo Mom Who Stuffed Newborn In Plastic Bag, Hid Him In Closet Found Guilty Of Murder

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — Moira Akers, 41, of Carved Stone in Columbia has been found guilty of killing her newborn son by placing him in a zipped plastic bag and hiding him in a closet.

A Howard County Circuit Court jury convicted Akers of second-degree murder and first-degree child abuse . Police said she gave birth to a baby boy in her home, then placed the baby in a bag, hid him under a blanket and closed the closet door.

On Nov. 1, 2018, Howard County Police were called to Howard County General Hospital after Akers had been taken from her home by paramedics to the hospital. According to court documents, Akers did not tell the Howard County Fire & EMS team who responded to the call that she had given birth.

After it was determined by medical professionals that she had given birth, investigators went to Akers home and found the baby boy. When asked about the baby, she said he had been stillborn, according to prosecutors.

An autopsy performed Nov. 2, 2018, on Baby Akers classified his death as a homicide. The report said the infant was a healthy, full-term baby and alive at birth. The cause of death was declared as asphyxiation and exposure.

“This was truly one of the most difficult cases my office has ever had to prosecute because we had the burden of proving the baby was born alive,” said State’s Attorney Rich Gibson. “Thanks to the great work of HCPD detectives, our prosecutors, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner and other experts, we were able to prove to a jury that the egregious and unconscionable actions of Ms. Akers ultimately led to the murder of her own child. After 3.5 years of working on this case, we are grateful the jury found Ms. Akers guilty of this heinous crime and we were able to obtain justice for Baby Akers.”

Akers will be sentenced July 29 and could face up to life in prison.