26-Year-Old Woman Pleads Guilty After Throwing Newborn Baby Out of Window Inside Plastic Bag By Becca Longmire

A woman in Australia has pleaded guilty after being accused of throwing a newborn baby out of a window inside a plastic bag, according to a report.

On Aug. 30, 2024 at approximately 2:40 a.m. local time, an infant was found with serious injuries outside a home in the Melbourne, Victoria, suburb of Dandenong North, Victoria Police previously said in a news release obtained by PEOPLE.

After being discovered outside the Gladstone Road address, the baby was taken to the hospital, the release noted, without naming the then 25-year-old suspect. Police declined to confirm whether the woman was the baby’s mother when asked by PEOPLE.

The woman has since been identified as Irine Jerotich, 26, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP). She briefly appeared in Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday, Sept. 15, after being accused of reckless conduct endangering life.

Jerotich wasn’t required to speak, aside from to indicate that she was pleading guilty to the single offense, the news agency noted. No details of the crime or allegations were revealed in court on Monday, per the AAP.

Charges previously alleged that the woman had placed the newborn in a plastic bag before throwing it out of the bathroom window onto concrete, the outlet reported. The offense “placed [the] unnamed infant in danger of death,” the AAP stated.

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The offense occurred between Aug. 29 and 30, 2024, the news agency noted, citing court documents.

In the previous Sept. 4, 2024 Victoria Police release obtained by PEOPLE, officers said the woman had been charged with conduct endangering life and recklessly cause injury. However, the latter charge was discontinued, the AAP reported.

Jerotich is out on bail and has been told she cannot leave Victoria and must stay at her home address until the matter goes to a pre-sentence hearing in the County Court of Victoria in February, according to the AAP.

Housemates of the woman, who hadn’t been named at the time, previously told 9News that they weren’t aware that she was pregnant. The outlet noted that the woman charged was the baby’s mother.

“We just woke up and there was an incident and we had to call triple zero, and they came and helped us,” one person previously told the outlet.

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Victoria Police said in the previous release obtained by PEOPLE that the woman charged had been taken to hospital at the time.

“We are happy that the baby is OK, and we are still praying for her and the baby,” the woman’s housemate previously added to 9News. “We are ready to support her when she gets out of hospital.”

The Melbourne Magistrates Court did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.