Pa. parents charged with killing, hiding their newborn baby

Associated Press

HARRISBURG, Pa.

The parents of a newborn girl found buried in the woods in northeastern Pennsylvania have been charged in the child’s death.

Authorities in Wayne County say the child’s body was found Friday near Hamlin, about 20 miles east of Scranton.

They said 20-year-old Christopher Fitzpatrick of Lake Ariel told 20-year-old Jennifer Barrise that they couldn’t afford to keep the baby.

Wayne County District Attorney Michael Lehutsky told The (Scranton) Times-Tribune that Barrise was also charged as an accomplice after the investigation disclosed that she knew the child would be killed.

The defendants are charged with criminal homicide and concealing the death of a child, and Fitzpatrick is also charged with abuse of a corpse.

Both are being held in Wayne County Prison without bail; it’s unclear whether they have attorneys.