Whitewater newborn dead in field, mom charged
WHITEWATER, Wis. - Prosecutors say a Whitewater mother admitted to leaving her newborn baby boy in a field, believing he was dead after she gave birth to him. According to a criminal complaint, she said she did it because she was worried she would lose her other children because she was pregnant by a man who was not their father.
Santos Cruz, 39, faces one count of neglecting a child, consequence is death and one count of move/hide/bury corpse of a child.
The baby boy's body was found on the morning of March 4 in a cardboard box off the roadway at the Twin Oaks Trailer Park. A black garbage bag and red cloth were found nearby.
The complaint says forensic imaging at the Wisconsin State Crime Lab revealed an address from the shipping label on that cardboard box, leading investigators to Cruz.
Prosecutors say she initially said she wasn't pregnant and didn't "conceal a newborn in a field, saying she would never do that to a baby." She said her ex-husband was making accusations that she was pregnant by another man, which were untrue.
A black garbage bag consistent with one found on scene was found in her vehicle, the complaint says.
During another interview, Cruz allegedly asked "how much time she would serve for doing this."
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She eventually said she was previously pregnant, and on Jan. 27, believed she was giving birth. She said she "did not tell her children because she didn't want to lose contact with them because she was pregnant with a different man than their father," prosecutors say.
She gave birth to a baby boy whom she said was not breathing or moving. She said she believed he was dead, putting the baby in a plastic bag that she left open "in case the baby started breathing." She said she put the bag under the sink, the criminal complaint says.
According to the complaint, she told investigators she did not believe the baby ever took a breath, but later, she said the baby was alive when it was first born but possibly choking. She said he started getting purple, and she "never helped the baby." She said she "didn't call 911 because she was scared her children would find out she was pregnant."
She said she cleaned the bathroom, and later that night, she placed the baby in a cardboard box. The complaint says she put it on her bed and "cried all night."
Around 5 a.m., she said she drove to the field near the trailer park and left the baby behind.
She said "she checked on the box every day and cried," the complaint says.
Santos Cruz made her initial appearance in court on Tuesday, March 28. Cash bond was set at $10,000.
The Safe Haven for Newborns legislation "guarantees the rights of parents relinquishing custody of newborn babies, 72 hours old and younger, anonymously and confidentially."
Newborns can be given to a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner or hospital staff member without fear of legal consequences.