Police still investigating newborn’s death

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 12:09 p.m.

North Las Vegas Police are still investigating the death of a newborn girl found stuffed into a plastic bag in her mother's closet.

Autopsy and test results released Tuesday determined the baby was born alive and died of suffocation.

The girl was found late Dec. 9 in the North Las Vegas home of an Air Force couple stationed at Nellis Air Force Base.

The newborn's mother told police she didn't know she was pregnant. Her husband also told investigators he didn't know of his wife's pregnancy, said Lt. Chris Larotonda, North Las Vegas Police spokesman.

"We're going to do a few more interviews with some people and make a determination from that whom we should charge with the death," Larotonda said. "We have a lot of physical evidence, which we can't discuss, but we should be able to file charges in this crime."

The 23-year-old mother has refused to talk with investigators about the newborn's death.

After the mother called the Nellis hospital Dec. 9 complaining of an illness, paramedics took her to the hospital because they noticed she had lost a lot of blood, according to a police report.

"She was seen by two doctors and one of the doctors - since it was obvious to the doctor she had recently given birth - asked her where the baby was," Larotonda said.

"She replied the baby was in the closet."