19-Year-Old Arrested In Case Of Abandoned Newborn: Police

GLEN BURNIE, MD — An arrest has been made in the case of a newborn baby found abandoned in a small wooded area along the 600 block of Greenway Road July 14 shortly after 6 a.m. A citizen heard the sounds of a baby crying and called 911. Anne Arundel County police officers found the infant and carried her to the paramedics who transported her to a local hospital.

Evidence was collected on the scene and the area canvassed by police officers. A person of interest was identified and brought into the police department's child abuse unit to be interviewed. According to the police department, the woman was positively identified as the mother of the abandoned newborn baby. She is 19-year-old Olivia Dee Rose Thompson of the 600 block of Wardour Road.

On Friday, Thompson was arrested and charged with attempted first- and second-degree murder, first- and second-degree assault, first- and second-degree child abuse, neglect of a minor, reckless endangerment, and desertion of a minor child.

"This was a tragic incident that could have safely been avoided. The newborn baby in this case is still doing well and is healthy. The Anne Arundel County Police wants to stress to all that in Maryland, no one ever has to abandon a newborn baby. Under the Safe Haven law, a distressed parent who is unable or unwilling to care for their infant can safely give up custody of their baby, no questions asked. Newborns can be left at hospitals or law enforcement stations," the police department stated in a news release.

Under the Safe Haven Law, a parent or another adult with the approval of the mother has up to 10 days from the birth to invoke Safe Haven anonymously and safely leave a baby with a responsible adult at a designated location. A person who invokes Safe Haven is immune from civil liability or criminal prosecution provided the child is unharmed.