Teen mother charged with murder after ‘slashing newborn baby’s throat and heart with pocket knife’

A teenage mother has been charged with the murder of her newborn baby after she slit the infant’s neck and was caught digging a hole in the backyard of her Georgia home to bury the body, police said.

Leticia Rodriguez, 17, is now charged with aggravated murder and aggravated assault with a weapon, in addition to previous felony counts of concealment of a death, abuse of a corpse and abandonment of a corpse, according to Marietta police.

Officers went to the teen’s home in Marietta on Sunday and found Rodriguez digging a hole in the backyard and finding the little boy dead.

“We saw the mother of the deceased infant dig a hole in the backyard to create this situation,” Marietta Police Public Information Officer Chuck McPhilamy said at a news conference Monday.

“The infant was never actually buried,” he clarified.

McPhilamy said Rodriguez gave birth at her home earlier in the day and had no one to help her. About six hours later, the new mother’s uncle found her digging a hole and called the police.

Rodriguez, who was in poor condition and required immediate medical attention due to the “trauma of birth,” was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for treatment, McPhilamy said.

A new probable cause affidavit obtained by WAGA revealed graphic details about the tragic incident.

The teenage mother had admitted to police that she had used a “sharp knife” to cut the umbilical cord from her baby’s neck after the birth, resulting in a “large laceration” on the child. She then used a pocket knife to “cut out the heart of the deceased infant,” police said.

Rodriguez is then accused of wrapping the newborn in a blanket and then putting him in a grocery bag to conceal his death for about six hours.

“The family has been cooperative with us throughout the investigation and our condolences go out to them,” McPhilamy said. “We cannot imagine the trauma they are going through.”

Neighbors told local news outlets that the family is from Guatemala and moved in about two years ago, but that they never noticed a young girl.

One of the neighbors, Theresa Neill, said she was shocked by what happened directly across the street from her home.

“I’ve lived here for 30 years and as far as I know nothing like this has happened in this area,” Neill told Atlanta First News. “It’s just sad that something like this has come up, and you know my condolences go out to anyone who loses children.”

After Rodriguez was released from the hospital, she was booked into the Cobb County Adult Jail and is being held without bail.