Teen Mother Put 8-Month-Old Into Freezer, Charged With Child Abuse

A teenage mother from Tennessee was charged with child abuse for putting her eight-month-old baby into a freezer, media reports said Wednesday. The woman, identified as 19-year-old Brittany C. Smith, took her child to a stranger's property in Johnson City where the incident took place earlier this month.

At the property, Smith found an unused freezer in the backyard. She placed the infant in the freezer and closed the lid. An eyewitness told police that they saw the young girl with an infant next to the freezer, according to an affidavit obtained by CBS/ABC-affiliated television station WJHL-TV. Two other witnesses also reported seeing Smith on the property.

One of the residents went outside to speak to Smith and found her hiding in the crawlspace under their home, according to reports. During an inspection, the baby was found in the freezer, which had about an inch of standing water in the bottom.

"Oh my God, she's trying to hide a dead baby on us,” a local, Joshua Blair, said was his initial reaction. "It wasn't moving, wasn't nothing. I reached in and pulled it out. It started moving. Instant relief."

It remains unclear as to how long the baby was inside the freezer. It also remains unclear why Smith decided to place the child in the freezer. However, police said Smith was likely under the influence.

"If they (witnesses) wouldn't have seen her put the child in there, the baby would have run out of oxygen,” an official, Shawn Judy, said, according to WCYB News.

After being rescued, the baby was taken to Johnson City Medical Center and is said to be in a stable condition. Deputies said this was a close call for the eight-month-old.

"They were very vigilant, kept an eye on everything, put clothes on the baby, fed the baby and everything until we arrived,” Judy said.

Smith was also charged with neglect and burglary. She was sent to jail with a $200,000 bond.

In another incident, a woman was charged with manslaughter after she killed her 6-month-old son by leaving him in an Alabama motel room freezer. Amanda Gail Oakes, 36, was also charged with abuse of a corpse in December. A man who was traveling with Oakes, 28-year-old Carlton James Mathis of Gainesville, Georgia, was also arrested. Authorities determined the baby was in the freezer for five to six days.