This story was initially published by East Idaho News.
An 18-year-old was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty to failing to alert the police after the death of an infant.
Angel Newberry was sentenced by Magistrate Judge James Howard Barrett Jr. to 180 days in local jail. The jail time was suspended, and Newberry was placed on supervised probation for one year. She will also be required to pay $200 in fees plus court costs.
If Newberry violates probation, she could face the 180 days in jail, with credit for two days already served.
She was initially charged with felony failure to notify or delay notification of death, but accepted a plea agreement Thursday, agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor version of the same charge, in exchange for the prosecution agreeing to recommend a suspended jail sentence and a period of supervised probation.
Newberry was charged in Bingham County for entering the county and failing to notify law enforcement that her newborn baby girl had died.
According to Bingham County Prosecutor Ryan Jolley, any other allegations would be dealt with in Twin Falls County, which has not filed any charges relating to this case.
Newberry was arrested in November 2024 in Twin Falls on a felony Bingham County arrest warrant after medical staff at Grove Creek Medical Center in Blackfoot discovered a deceased baby in a Safe Haven Baby Box on Oct 13, 2024.
The Safe Haven Baby Box is a location where parents can anonymously and safely leave an infant they are unable to care for.
According to court documents, Newberry had hidden her pregnancy from her family and gave birth alone in a bathroom inside her home on Oct. 12, just days after her 18th birthday.
Detectives say there is evidence she tried to take care of the baby, but also say there is evidence that she knew the baby was dead when she placed her in the baby box.
Newberry did not make a statement during her sentencing hearing.
