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BRIDGETON - Isamar Sanchez gave birth inside a bathroom stall and drowned her newborn child in the toilet tank during a Cinco de Mayo celebration last year, she told a Superior Court judge.

The 16-year-old Bridgeton resident pleaded guilty to the 2008 reckless manslaughter of her child Wednesday morning in juvenile court at Cumberland County Superior Court.

Sanchez, 14 at the time of the incident, will be sentenced Monday.

The incident took place at the Cumberland County Fairgrounds on May 4, 2008, a Sunday, during an event that attracted hundreds of people. At about 8 p.m., Sanchez gave birth to her child in the bathroom, lifted the lid off the toilet's tank and submerged the baby in the water.

The body was discovered by cleaning crews the following day.

Sanchez reportedly hid the pregnancy and birth from her family, but was found by police and arrested two days after the discovery. She was treated at a local hospital and has since been lodged at the Cumberland County Juvenile Detention Center.

An autopsy found that the newborn, a boy, was alive after he was born. The cause of death was determined to be drowning.

It was Sanchez's second child; she had her first child when she was in seventh grade. Cumberland County Prosecutor Ron Casella said the girl's other child is living with her family.

Because of the severity of the crime, Casella said his office originally made a motion to try Sanchez as an adult. The crime was shocking enough, he said, that the penalties applied to Sanchez as a juvenile would not be harsh enough.

Sanchez's version of what happened that night, Casella said, differed from what authorities originally surmised. The act may not have been as cold and calculated as first considered, said the prosecutor. Casella did not provide further details.

But the idea that Sanchez might be a victim played a part in the decision to ultimately consider Sanchez a juvenile, Casella said. Authorities were seeking the newborn's father but have not identified anyone.

According to Casella, Sanchez has not provided authorities with details about who the father might be.

Sanchez's plea is an open one, Casella said, meaning no sentencing terms are attached. Casella said he could not comment on how much additional time Sanchez could face, saying that ultimately it is the judge's decision.

E-mail Edward Van Embden:

EVanEmbden@pressofac.com

1 comment:

• Advocate (89) posts 1:05 pm

  She does need professional intervention..two pregnancies..so young in life..what has really been going on in her life? Now one is dead. Very sad.

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