A newborn baby was found dead in a cardboard box in an abandoned field in Wisconsin. Santos Asucena Caseres Cruz, the mother, has been arrested in connection to the death. She was charged with one count of neglecting a child resulting in death, and moving, concealing, or burying the corpse of a child, according to legal documents.
Whitewater Police Department officers responded to the report of a dead infant at the Twin Oaks Trailer Park, located around 55 miles from Milwaukee, at 11 am on March 4.
Upon finding the box, they discovered a black garbage bag, a red cloth, and the baby’s remains. The baby was wrapped in a cloth, which was found to be stained with blood, and the umbilical cord was still attached and had blood from birth on the body. The cause of death could not be determined through an autopsy.
Police were able to use the box to track down the mother. There was a shipping label on the box that had an address that was led to an one of Cruz’s children. They told authorities that his father believed Cruz, had an affair that resulted in a pregnancy and an abortion.
Still, when questioned by officers, Cruz denied being pregnant and hiding the newborn in a field. She allowed officers to search her car and residence and provided a buccal swab.
Another child of Cruz’s, told the police that Cruz was in the restroom for an extended period on January 27 due to stomach pain, and there was a lot of blood which led them to believe her mother was hemorrhaging.
Cruz eventually admitted to being pregnant and hiding it from her family due to the fact that the baby’s father was not her husband and that the baby was alive when it was born, but she did not do anything to help. To avoid her children discovering the truth, she did not call 911.
Cruz hid the baby in a box beneath the sink cabinet, retrieved it in the early morning hours, and left it at the trailer park a half hour later. She confessed to checking on the box every day and crying.
Cruz was arrested, and her bond was set at $10,000. She is due in court for a preliminary hearing on April 4.