8-Month-Old Baby Left For Dead Found Covered In Maggots

An 8-month-old girl, who survived being in a plastic bag for three days in upstate New York, was released from the hospital, according to local police reports Wednesday.

Kayla Seals, and the three other neighbors who saved the girl — Karen Seals, Noril Washington and Rahine Bowman— originally thought the noises coming from the bushes belonged to a dog. Kayla said she noticed two legs poking out of the bag. When they discovered a baby inside, they dropped water in her mouth to help her breathe and washed her in their bathtub.

“She was a mess. I can’t even sleep. I ripped that bag open. She was in feces, darling. Pee. Flies were all around. She had maggots on her neck, itching, just crawling on her,” Seals said to ABC-affiliate WENY. “She had scars on her chest down...her legs was burnt, her arms were burnt, she couldn’t breathe... she was trying to gasp for air.”

The four neighbors heard a noise coming from the trash Aug. 8 and found the baby. They called Elmira police, who later said the girl was in the trash for three days. The neighbors administered first aid to the baby until emergency officials arrived — and they did so just in the knick of time. She was 30 minutes away from dying, reported NBC-affiliate WETM.

The baby girl was admitted to Rochester’s Strong Memorial Hospital and recovering “remarkably well,” according to a prosecutor Friday. Since then, she was released from the hospital. Her name was not revealed.

Harriette Hoyt, 17, was charged with attempted second-degree murder for allegedly putting her 8-month-old daughter in a plastic bag and leaving her in an Elmira, New York, yard for three days.

A criminal complaint was filed in Elmira City Court. Investigators determined the baby was put inside a plastic bag and put near bushes behind 609 Walnut Street. The estimated time she was placed there falls between 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. on Aug. 5. The child was dehydrated when neighbors found her.

The Elmira Police Department issued a press release detailing the incident.

The four neighbors announced they were collecting donated clothes, diapers and other items for the child upon her release from the hospital.

Court documents reported Hoyt, originally from Sayre, Pennsylvania, did not contact anyone about her daughter during the 72 hours. After her Aug. 9 court appearance, Hoyt was taken to Chemung County Jail where she remains. Her attorney, John Brennan, declined to comment to the press.