UPDATED WITH MOTHER'S IDENTITY, CHARGES, OTHER DETAILS . . .
Juana Perez Valencia, 19, of Anaheim, allegedly gave birth to a girl Tuesday evening in the restroom of the restaurant where she works, wrapped the newborn in a plastic bag and dumped the little bundle of joy in the dumpster out back, killing the child.
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According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department:
Valencia was being treated Wednesday at Anaheim Medical
Center for post-pregnancy issues but denied having just given birth
when asked by doctors, who suspected otherwise and contacted
authorities. Inconsistencies in the statements she made led deputies to track her previous movements, which
took them to Sombrero's, 7006 Katella Ave., Stanton, where Valencia works as
a food server. The body of a newborn baby wrapped in plastic was found in trash
bin behind the restaurant.
Valencia has been charged with one felony count of
murder and could get 25 years to life in state prison if convicted, according to the Orange County District Attorney. Bail of $1 million will be sought at her arraignment in Santa Ana on Tuesday morning.
According to a statement by the OCDA:
“The baby girl was born alive. Baby Doe
weighed 6.3 pounds and was 17 inches long. The defendant is accused of
murdering the baby, putting Baby Doe in a plastic bag, and throwing her
body in a dumpster behind the restaurant.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.