N.J. Mom Killed Her Baby by Leaving Newborn in Toilet For Hours After Giving Birth 

A New Jersey woman has pleaded guilty to killing her newborn baby boy after leaving him in a toilet bowl for hours.

Kimberly Aponte, 23, was 19 on the morning of Aug. 22, 2020 when she gave birth to a boy in the bathroom of a Hackensack apartment she shared with her family, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the Bergen Record. 

Aponte left the baby in the toilet for several hours, until she went to clean up the bathroom. When she believed the baby wasn’t alive anymore, Aponte wrapped him in plastic and a towel and put him in a hamper, per the affidavit.

“She left the baby there because she realized it would change her life,” a detective wrote in the probable cause affidavit. 

Aponte’s father called 911 to report that his daughter had given birth overnight after discovering the baby in a purple towel inside the hamper, NJ.com reported, citing the affidavit.

When Hackensack police arrived at the apartment, they found the baby’s lifeless body on the kitchen peninsula, ABC7 reported, citing the affidavit. Aponte, who hid the pregnancy from her family, was facing one count of second-degree aggravated manslaughter. 

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When the Bergen County Medical Examiner’s office conducted an autopsy, they determined the “baby boy was full-term, born alive, well-nourished, well-developed and well-hydrated,” NJ.com reported, citing the affidavit. 

“The medical examiner determined that the baby was fully capable of living,” a detective said in the affidavit.

Assistant Prosecutor Brandy Malfitano said the state is recommending a maximum of four years in a New Jersey prison as part of Aponte’s plea deal, according to the Bergen Record.

Aponte is set to surrender into state custody on April 11, per the Bergen Record.