A mother has now been charged with murdering her newborn baby girl, wrapped her in a plastic bag and burring her in the woods.
Joanie Faith Holcombe, aged 23, from South Carolina, stands accused of asphyxiating the newborn while the umbilical cord was still attached.
Police later discovered the body after the received a 911 call regarding a baby with facial injuries.
Police then tracked Holcombe down, she then confessed to the killing of her child and hiding the body.
She was subsequently arrested and is now being held at the Anderson County Detention Center.
Anderson County Sheriff John Skipper said in a statement: ‘I don’t know this young mother’s exact situation but I do know that others who find themselves with an unwanted newborn have viable options.
‘One option is guaranteed by the South Carolina Safe Haven Law.’
The law states that an individual can leave their baby of up to 30 days old with an attendant at any hospital, emergency medical services provider, law enforcement agency, fire station or worship center.
