Chicago

What Prosecutors Say Happened Before a Newborn Was Brought to a Chicago Firehouse

The newborn was the first baby to be illegally abandoned in Illinois this year, according to Dawn Geras, who lobbied to pass Illinois' "Safe Haven" law

Prosecutors say a 16-year-old mother kept her pregnancy a secret before giving birth. Hours later, her baby was dropped off, cold to the touch but alive, at a Chicago firehouse miles away. 

Patrick Casey Doe was born at 6 a.m. Tuesday in an apartment in Chicago's Old Irving Park neighborhood, authorities said. 

His teenage mother was bleeding profusely after the birth, but tried to clean up the blood in the apartment and the building's stairway, according to prosecutors. 

Concerned over the blood, the girl's boyfriend called an ambulance and the 16-year-old was brought to Norwegian American Hospital for treatment, prosecutors said. 

That's when the baby's father allegedly put the infant in a bag and placed the bag in a garbage can. At some point, the infant was removed from the trash can and the 17-year-old dad called his mother, Karla Antimo, to pick him up.

Antimo told police her son told her the baby's mom had a miscarriage. It wasn't until the pair were in the car together that Antimo said she heard the baby cry from inside the bag. 

The infant's grandmother dropped off her son and another person in her vehicle and brought the child to a Chicago firehouse in the 1700 block of North Pulaski Road in the city's Hermosa neighborhood, according to police and prosecutors. 

Prosecutors said more than 10 hours passed between the time the baby was born and the time Antimo brought it to the fire station. 

She told firefighters at the scene she heard cries from a trash can and brought the baby in right away, prosecutors said. Firefighters and paramedics said the infant was cold to the touch and called for an ambulance to take the newborn to a hospital. 

Paramedics took the baby to Norwegian American Hospital in critical condition just after 4 p.m., officials said. Doctors and nurses worked for more than half an hour to bring the child back to life, prosecutors said. 

The baby was "crying and kicking," according to a fire department spokesman, and his condition was upgraded to stable before he was transferred to Lurie Children's Hospital where prosecutors say he will need to spend another two weeks in the neo-natal intensive care unit. 

It wasn't until the following day that Antimo called police to correct her story. 

The 16-year-old girl and 17-year-old boy were identified as the baby's parents and each were charged with one felony count of first-degree attempted murder, Chicago police said in a statement. Their names were not released, as they were charged as juveniles.

Antimo, 37, was identified as the newborn's grandmother and charged with one felony count of disorderly conduct in making a false report of an offense, authorities said.

A judge on Friday ordered Antimo be released on a $10,000 I-bond, in part because she ultimately brought the child to the fire station. The infant's parents were also ordered released Friday. 

The attorney for the baby's teenage mother said his client was young and scared but should not face criminal charges because of "steps" she took after the baby was born. 

The newborn was the first baby to be illegally abandoned in Illinois this year, according to Dawn Geras, who lobbied to pass Illinois' "Safe Haven" law.

Under the law, infants 30 days or younger may be dropped off with no questions asked at a hospital, fire or police station, according to the state's Department of Child and Family Services.

Anitmo's attorney said she is just happy the baby survived.

"She is ecstatic the baby is doing better," said attorney Ruben Herrera. 

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