Woman who gave birth in a toilet in a sorority house before she put the baby in a garbage bag and then threw it in a trash can because the man she thought was the father didn’t want to inform his parents about her pregnancy is now eligible for parole
Court records show that the 27-year-old woman, identified as Emile, received a revised sentence for killing her newborn daughter, referred to as Addison, who she placed in a plastic garbage bag right after giving birth in a toilet in a sorority house. Originally sentenced to life without parole, Emile now has the possibility of parole after serving 20 years in prison.
The woman was found guilty in May 2016 on charges of aggravated murder, gross abuse of a corpse, and tampering with evidence. The charges stemmed from an incident that took place in 2015, when Emile, after giving birth in a toilet at the sorority house, disposed of her newborn daughter in a trash can, placing the baby in a plastic garbage bag and leaving it outside. This act of neonaticide, a term used to describe the killing of a newborn within the first 24 hours of life, was met with disbelief not only by the community but by the nation as well.
The discovery of baby Addison’s body was a shocking event for the two sorority sisters who found her body. Prosecutors expressed a strong stance against Emile’s actions, emphasizing the intentional nature of her crime and her apparent lack of remorse. According to them, Emile did not want the child and made a decision to engage in irreparable violence out of an overwhelming fear of judgment for her pregnancy. The investigation showed that Emile texted the suspected father one day before giving birth and committing the murder, demanding that he inform his parents about her pregnancy or else… After the murder, she sent him the message, “No more baby.” At the end, it turned out that the person she thought was the father of the girl and sent a message to demanding that he inform his parents about her pregnancy wasn’t actually the father, according to evidence.
The case took a turn when Emile’s defense team introduced expert testimony regarding her mental state. They provided a compelling report from medical experts, explaining the psychological patterns often seen in cases of neonaticide. According to the experts, women who commit such acts tend to be young, isolated, and overwhelmed by the prospect of unwed motherhood, with many experiencing denial of their pregnancy and a subsequent state of panic upon giving birth. This profile seemed to fit Emile, who was described as socially isolated, immature, and under pressure to keep her pregnancy secret.
This testimony ultimately led to Emile’s resentencing. The decision to make her eligible for parole after 20 years is a departure from her initial life sentence without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors, while accepting the court’s decision, expressed disappointment, emphasizing that the reduced sentence diminished the justice baby Addison deserves.
