The teenage mother of a newborn baby found dead in a closet has been charged with illegally concealing the child's birth, police said.
Jameya Lataj Turner, 16, of High Point, was released into the custody of her mother Wednesday after her arrest.
An autopsy of the child released last week could not determine whether the baby was born alive. The boy had numerous defects, the autopsy found, and would have needed extensive medical help to survive if he had been born alive.
The charge against Turner is the lowest-grade felony.
With the autopsy inconclusive, "there weren't a whole lot of options we had as far as charges," Capt. Kenneth Shultz of the High Point Police Department said.
The boy's body was discovered May 25 in an apartment where Turner gave birth. A family member discovered the body several hours later, police said.
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Jameya Lataj Turner, 16, of High Point, was released into the custody of her mother Wednesday after her arrest.
An autopsy of the child released last week could not determine whether the baby was born alive. The boy had numerous defects, the autopsy found, and would have needed extensive medical help to survive if he had been born alive.
The charge against Turner is the lowest-grade felony.
With the autopsy inconclusive, "there weren't a whole lot of options we had as far as charges," Capt. Kenneth Shultz of the High Point Police Department said.
The boy's body was discovered May 25 in an apartment where Turner gave birth. A family member discovered the body several hours later, police said.
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