Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Wash. (Google Maps).
A woman in Washington state was charged with murder after prosecutors said she killed her teenage daughter's newborn baby.
Dayjanay Thomas, 31, was charged with second-degree murder and criminal mistreatment months after she and her 14-year-old daughter allegedly showed up at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma, Washington, with a dead newborn.
According to court documents obtained by the Tacoma News Tribune, a local news outlet, Thomas' daughter gave birth to a boy in their home on Feb. 10. The teen told her mother that she did not realize she was pregnant, and Thomas later told police that she was unaware that her daughter was pregnant.
According to the court documents, the teenager gave birth at home around 5 a.m. on Feb. 10 and immediately told her mother. Rather than call 911, Thomas allegedly told her daughter that they would have to wait for a friend to drive them to the hospital.
Thomas' landlord, who owned the house where Thomas rented two upstairs rooms, came to the apartment around 11:30 a.m., when Thomas told the landlord that her daughter was pregnant. Police spoke to the landlord, who said she noticed that the teen had appeared to be pregnant. However, when she brought up the subject with Thomas, Thomas "did not take the comment seriously."
The two women continued to talk while in the house for the next few hours until they finally decided to go to the hospital around 6:45 p.m. The landlord agreed to drive Thomas and the teen, who was carrying a cardboard box. Thomas allegedly told the landlord that the box was there in case the teen became sick to her stomach.
Police said the landlord told them she did not know the teen had given birth when she drove Thomas and her daughter to the hospital.
According to court documents, the body of the teen's newborn son was inside the box. An autopsy revealed that the baby was alive when he was born, and died as a result of eight sharp-force injuries. He also had several blunt-force injuries to his head. The manner of death was listed as homicide.
After medical staff alerted police, detectives searched Thomas' apartment and allegedly found blood on the floor leading from the teen's bedroom to a bathroom in the hallway. According to court documents, police found blood in the bathroom, clothes soaking in the sink, a serrated knife and a pair of scissors.
Detectives found text messages exchanged between Thomas and her daughter from the day the baby was born, including one from Thomas that allegedly read, "Okay you have to let them know that [the landlord] and I didn't know and just let them know you didn't know what was going on with your body."
Thomas was arrested on Feb. 23 and charged with criminal mistreatment in connection with her alleged failure to seek medical care for her daughter after she gave birth. Following an investigation into the baby's death, prosecutors added the second-degree murder charge on Aug. 20 while Thomas was still in jail.
Neither the teen nor the landlord has been charged in connection with the baby's death.
Thomas is currently in custody at the Pierce County Jail, where she is being held on $500,000 cash bond. She was ordered not to have contact with her daughter. Her next court date is scheduled for Oct. 1.