Woman Allegedly Strangles Newborn After Giving Birth, Buries Baby In Her Yard

A 19-year-old woman in El Paso County, Colorado, has been arrested after she allegedly killed her newborn daughter and buried the child in her backyard in January, court documents showed.

Amy Grace Carr was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with a deceased human body, the El Paso County Sheriff's Office said in a statement released Friday. According to police, she may face additional charges in the future.

The charges stemmed from a call made by a woman on Jan. 23 about a dead baby found on her property on Shear Road, located about 14 miles southeast of Yoder in El Paso County, KXRM-TV reported, citing arrest papers. The woman lives on the property with Carr and two others, the sheriff’s office stated.

Responding deputies found blood on the front steps of the home and on a worn path leading to a shed, the affidavit said. The officers found more blood inside the shed on the floor with dirt on it, as well as a shovel. They also discovered a piece of fabric containing what appeared to be a placenta and an umbilical cord in front of the shed.

According to the document, deputies found the infant — lying face up and covered in dirt — in the ground between two cars parked next to the shed. Officers did not notice any signs of trauma.

The caller said her husband had found the child and that she contacted authorities after she was unable to find a pulse.

Upon being interviewed, Carr told deputies she had given birth to a stillborn baby on Jan. 18, the affidavit said. Biological samples confirmed the baby was hers.

Investigators noted that Carr "had wiped a lot of the data from her phone" all the way to July 2020, but they were able to view photos and screenshots that they said were relevant to the investigation, the affidavit stated. They were also able to access conversations from Carr's Facebook and Snapchat accounts.

Carr described being in labor and said she thought she was miscarrying in a conversation with the baby's father on Jan. 17, according to the affidavit. She wrote "It's born" and "out side" the next day.

"I'm surprised it was a live and not still born," the baby's father told Carr when she described taking three painkillers before the birth, according to the affidavit.

"Seriously me too. And how long I had to strangle it before it even stopped breathing," Carr responded, adding, "Strong lil girl."

According to the affidavit, an autopsy into the child's cause of death was inconclusive.

Carr is scheduled to appear in court on June 15.