Geisinger Lewistown Hospital in Lewistown, Pennsylvania (Google Maps).
A Pennsylvania woman is accused of giving birth to a baby she didn't want and then leaving the child in a field to die before going to work.
Jordyn Kauffman, 20, faces several charges including first-degree murder, aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, concealing the death of a child, and abuse of a corpse, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. She is being held in the Mifflin County Prison without bail.
On May 14 at about 9:30 a.m., Kauffman gave birth to a baby girl at her home in McVeytown, Pennsylvania, charging documents obtained by PennLive stated. She allegedly held her daughter for about 30 minutes and watched the baby move her hands before placing the child outside her home, the documents say.
According to investigators, the child was still breathing when she was abandoned.
Kauffman is said to have walked back inside her home and then left for work a couple of hours later. She reportedly later admitted that she knew what she did was wrong but was worried her father would disown her if he knew she had been pregnant.
The following day, Kauffman's father took his daughter to Geisinger Lewistown Hospital in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, about 12 miles away. He had found her bleeding — but Kauffman allegedly told hospital staff that she was not pregnant and she did not have any kids.
This apparently did not track with what hospital staff knew. Kauffman had reportedly been in the hospital in the fall of 2025, telling workers that she did not want to be pregnant but didn't get an abortion because "she felt like she procrastinated so long it was too late," per the local outlet.
In the following months, Kauffman reportedly missed multiple appointments related to her pregnancy. Pennsylvania State Police were called to the hospital, and they began to investigate what was going on.
Officers spoke with Kauffman and then went to her home — where they found the infant dead in the grass outside, according to the Mifflin County Coroner's Office. An autopsy confirmed that the child was born alive and then suffered injuries caused by insects and "prolonged environmental exposure."
"The newborn was observed to be unclothed with a cut umbilical cord still present," the coroner's office added. "Further examination indicated the newborn survived for a period of time after being exposed to the elements."
Authorities found a placenta about 50 feet away "inside a white trash bag with a remaining portion of the umbilical cord still attached." The coroner's office continued: "This was not a peaceful or natural death. This was the death of a newborn child under deeply tragic circumstances. There are some investigations that stay with you, and this is one of them."
Authorities are searching for the victim's father and asking any man who may have had sexual contact with Kauffman between July and September 2025 to contact the coroner's office.
The defendant has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Wednesday.