Joshua Coleman Wouters, 19, and Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, were arrested in Pennsylvania on suspicion of murdering a newborn baby and throwing its body out a window.
A Pennsylvania couple has been arrested and charged with murdering their newborn baby, who police say was thrown from a second-story window onto the street below. According to the Mirror US, Joshua Coleman Wouters (19) and Emily Jane Dickinson (20) are accused of causing the baby's death from hemorrhagic shock less than a day after birth, then dumping the body out of a second-story window in their home.
According to court records, the two were subsequently arrested and charged with murder, conspiracy, concealing the death of an infant and abuse of a corpse. In addition to those charges, Wouters also faces a misdemeanor charge of obstructing law enforcement. On March 11, Pennsylvania State Police responded at 8:45 a.m. to a report of a baby boy found dead in the road in McConnellsburg Borough.
Upon arriving on scene, police found the newborn victim approximately 20 feet north of the intersection. In addition to the tragic discovery of the baby boy, who was pronounced dead at the scene, a bloodstained mattress, placenta and multiple disposable items were found in trash bags near the body. According to court documents, the Fulton County Coroner's Office determined the newborn was less than 24 hours old and approximately 36 or 37 weeks gestational age.
An autopsy determined the baby's cause of death was “umbilical cord exsanguination,” meaning the baby bled to death after the cord was cut. Police questioned Wouters for more details, but he adamantly denied knowing anything about the baby.
The investigation led officers to the couple's apartment, which had a second-floor window that looked directly into the spot where the deceased child was found. Officers questioned Wouters again on April 1, but he denied knowing anything about the incident.
He even went so far as to say he was a virgin and avoided using the word “sex” properly. A search warrant was obtained for the couple's residence on April 3. Detectives reportedly found bloodstains in the bedroom and bathroom.
When Wouters was questioned again, she allegedly confessed that the baby was hers and Dickinson's and claimed, “My first reaction to any traumatic event is, well, to lie,” according to the complaint.
He also revealed that Dickinson only announced her pregnancy in February and that he feels too immature to be a father. He reportedly said, “I'm only 19. Do I really think 19-year-olds should be having kids? No, not at all. They're too immature.”
In their shocking revelations, investigators say Wouters said Dickinson treated the newborn with disgust, picking him up “as if he was picking up dog poop” and roughly chopping him up without clamping the umbilical cord with a kitchen knife. Wouters alleges the woman then walked to a bathroom window and brutally threw the baby from the second floor onto the rough concrete below.
Ms Wouters explained that she was stunned to see the baby thrown out of the window and yelled at Ms Dickinson “what on earth have you done” before throwing other items in bin bags out of the window as well. Astonishingly, after this incident, neither party considered calling emergency services.
Dickinson's interview, reportedly conducted under the supervision of her lawyers on April 11, confirmed that she gave birth at home and speculated that the baby died shortly after the umbilical cord was removed.
She also claimed that due to severe blood loss, she may have hallucinated that the baby was still moving and crying when she thought he had died. Ironically, Dickinson stated that she had never attempted to perform CPR on the baby, despite being a qualified nursing assistant.
DNA testing reportedly confirmed that the dead newborn was indeed Wouters and Dickinson's child. The story emerged when a search of the mother's phone revealed search history that showed her scouring the internet for pregnancy-related information, including “abortion laws” and “home birth, how long will the bleeding last.”
The couple are currently being held in Bedford County Jail. Bail has been denied as they both face the possibility of life in prison.
