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Police Investigate Fetus Found In Bel Air Trash Bin

BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ)-- There's new information about a disturbing find in Harford County-- a fetus dumped in the trash in Bel Air.

Mike Hellgren reveals more about what the mother told police.

The mother initiated this investigation. She reported everything to authorities Tuesday night, and the Medical Examiner's Office spent the day conducting an autopsy.

Police say the fetus was wrapped in plastic and found in a dumpster. The mom, they say, brought detectives inside an apartment complex off Sablewood Road in Bel Air where neighbors are shaken.

"I was very sad," said Virginia Dobrzycki of Bel Air. "I just couldn't believe someone would do that to a little baby."

"This-- it just got to me-- a little baby. Because I have a niece who's just 2 years old, and it kind of hurt me when I heard about that. It shocked me," Kimberly Harper of Bel Air said.

Investigators tell WJZ the mother revealed she gave birth at a relative's house. She said the baby was stillborn.

Authorities took the mom to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center where doctors evaluated her and police interviewed her yet again.

"Strange things have been happening, so it wouldn't be the first," Darlene Smith of Bel Air said.

Similar cases in Maryland have drawn major attention.

In 2007, a judge sentenced Danielle Riley to 20 years in prison. Riley gave birth in a dorm room in Owings Mills, then stuffed the baby in a drainage ditch in Prince George's County.

That same year, police found four fetuses on Christy Freeman's property in Ocean City but dropped charges after they could not prove any were born alive.

"The community has been extremely supportive," Freeman said in 2007. "And I just want to say thanks for everybody giving me a fair shot.

In the Bel Air case, the medical examiner is conducting an autopsy on the fetus to determine the cause of death.

"Call an ambulance. Call the police department. Call the fire department. Don't do that," Dobrzycki said.

Police have made no mention of charges or wrong-doing.

It is not clear if the woman who reported dumping her fetus lives in Bel Air. She first reported what happened to authorities in Baltimore County.

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