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Nursing assistant accused of hurling her newborn baby out of second-story window to his death

Warning graphic details: Dead newborn found at intersection in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania

Alex Lang
Friday 28 June 2024 20:10 BST
Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, and James Coleman Wooters, 19, were both charged with homicide and other counts in connection to a baby’s death in Pennsylvania
Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, and James Coleman Wooters, 19, were both charged with homicide and other counts in connection to a baby’s death in Pennsylvania (Bedford County Prison)

Two people face charges for throwing a baby from a second-floor window to his death, police said.

Authorities in Pennsylvania announced the arrests of Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, and James Coleman Wooters, 19, in connection to the unnamed baby’s death.

Dickinson is a certified nursing assistant in Maryland.

The baby was found dead at an intersection in McConnellsburg, Pennsylvania, on March 11, according to the Bedford Gazette. The child weighed 4 pounds and had brown hair and blue eyes. He was estimated to be at 36 weeks of gestation.

Investigators also found the placenta nearby and a trash bag that contained a blood-stained mattress cover, according to a police report obtained by the outlet.

Police canvassed the neighborhood and spoke to Wooters, who denied knowing the baby. His apartment overlooks where the baby was found.

Wooters told police that shortly after birth he was holding the baby when Dickinson threw the child out of the second-story window
Wooters told police that shortly after birth he was holding the baby when Dickinson threw the child out of the second-story window (Bedford County Prison)

On April 3, police went into his apartment and found blood evidence on a mattress and a window sill, according to the report.

Wooters told officers he hadn’t seen Dickinson since October. He also said the two were not in a sexual relationship.

Officers then told him that Dickinson was spotted in the area in March and Wooters admitted he lied because that was his reaction to something “traumatic.”

Wooters admitted the two were having sex and he only learned about the baby a month earlier. He also said he was not ready to be a father, according to the report.

He then admitted that one day, Dickinson woke him up and said she was in labor. Wooters went into the bathroom until he heard the baby cry. He said he rocked the baby to quiet him and then cut the umbilical cord with a kitchen knife, according to the report.

Wooters said the baby was bleeding from the umbilical cord.

That is when Dickinson walked by and threw the baby out the window, he claimed.

Dickinson’s mother was also in the apartment at the time but was not aware of the situation, according to the report.

Dickinson told police she was hallucinating from blood loss after birth and the child was born “deformed”
Dickinson told police she was hallucinating from blood loss after birth and the child was born “deformed” (Bedford County Prison)

Police also spoke to Dickinson who said she was not aware she was pregnant until she was months along, according to the report. She had researched abortions but believed it was too late. She didn’t seek a doctor’s care and did not look up adoption agencies.

Dickinson said she woke up in pain and gave birth in bed.

She also told police the baby was “deformed” with a head larger than usual, according to the report. She said the baby died and she threw him out of the window.

Dickinson claimed she was hallucinating from blood loss and her story wavered on if the baby died shortly after birth, according to the report.

Both now face charges of homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, and a host of misdemeanors. Wooters was also charged with a felony count of second-degree obstruction of law enforcement.

The two suspects are being held in jail without bond.

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