Macon woman indicted on felony charges for allegedly leaving newborn in trash bag
A woman accused of putting an infant child in a trash bag has been indicted, according to Bibb County Superior Court records from Wednesday.
Alaynah Rappuhn, 23, was charged on Wednesday with one count of criminal attempt to commit a felony and one count of cruelty to children in the first degree, stemming from an incident on March 31 in which her boyfriend had found an infant inside of a trash bag in on the back porch of their house, according to deputies from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.
Her boyfriend had taken Rappuhn to the hospital after noticing she was bleeding excessively. When he returned to the house to grab some of their belongings, he heard noises coming from the trash bag and found the infant inside wrapped in towels.
Rappuhn had given birth at approximately 4:30 a.m., and later allegedly placed “the living infant inside of the trash bag with the plan to keep the infant there and not inform anyone, acts which constitute a substantial step toward the commission of said crime,” according to the indictment.
The indictment also accused her of willfully depriving the infant “of necessary sustenance to the extent that said child’s health and well-being was jeopardized,” court records show.
Rappuhn had also not told her boyfriend that she was pregnant, nor that she had the baby. She also did not inform the staff at Piedmont Macon Emergency Room that she had a child when arriving for treatment.
At the time, deputies said the baby was transported to the hospital and was in critical but stable condition. The baby’s condition was unclear as of Thursday. The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office has not responded to comment on the child’s health as of Thursday.
Rappuhn was taken to the Bibb County Jail on April 1, where she remained as of Thursday, according to the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office inmate search.
If convicted of the criminal attempt to commit a felony charge, she faces not less than one year, “nor more than one-half the maximum period of time for which he or she could’ve been sentenced if he or she had been convicted of the crime attempted,” according to Georgia state code. It’s unclear what her actual maximum sentence on the charge would be. She may also face a fine.
For the charge of cruelty to children in the first degree, Rappuhn faces no less than five years nor more than 20 years, according to the Georgia state code.
