Dead Newborn Found Inside Trash Can In Dorm Bathroom, Investigation Underway

A newborn baby was found dead in a dorm bathroom of Hiram College, Ohio on the morning of Oct. 18.

The deceased newborn baby was first discovered inside a garbage bag by the maintenance worker of the college, who then alerted Hiram Village Police. The dorm was locked down after the body was found.

School president Lori Varlotta told WEWS-TV that the entire campus is grieving the loss and the university is doing its best to ensure the welfare of its students, faculty, and staff.

The state's Bureau of Criminal Intelligence along with the local police department is investigating the case.

The Portage County Coroner, Dr. Dean DePerro, said that it was not clear how long the baby had remained in the bathroom. It is unclear if the baby —who could have been full-term or nearly full-term — was delivered alive or stillborn. The body was relocated to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.

The mother of the child was also identified the same night and taken to the local hospital for treatment.

Meanwhile, the college spokeswoman Jenelle Bayus said that the institution is offering personal and ministerial counseling services for the students and staff.

Hiram College is about 35 miles from the southeast of Cleveland. The college has a strength of around 1100 students.

A similar incident had occurred in Ohio in 2017 when an 18-year-old cheerleader, Brooke Skylar Richardson was accused of murdering her newborn baby by burying the body in her back garden. She was arrested and a murder trial started. In September, she was found not guilty of murder and involuntary manslaughter; and guilty of abuse of a corpse for burying her stillborn baby.