Questions linger after fetus found in Macon trash can

A day after a fetus was found in a trash can behind a Macon home, details about how it got there are still in question.

A 30-year-old Macon woman was being treated at Coliseum Hospital for heavy bleeding about 11 a.m. Wednesday when doctors determined she had recently given birth, according to a news release from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office.

There was no baby with her, which prompted the local Division of Family and Children Services to contact the sheriff’s office about 2:30 p.m., deputy Linda Howard said. A deputy responded to the hospital “in reference to medical malpractice,” according to an incident report from the sheriff’s office.

The investigation led to a house where the woman was living in the 4300 block of Napier Avenue, not far from its intersection with Forsyth Road.

The remains of a developing female were found wrapped in a shopping bag in a garbage can in the backyard, the release said. The pregnancy was not full term, officials said, but it was unclear how long the woman had been pregnant. Macon-Bibb County Coroner Leon Jones told a Telegraph reporter Wednesday night that the woman had been pregnant about 16 weeks. Thursday afternoon, Jones said he didn’t know how far along the pregnancy was and that it will be determined by an autopsy.

However, an incident report from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office obtained Thursday indicates the woman was at least five months pregnant. Doctors found “a placenta and an umbilical cord” during their examination of the woman, the report said.

Patrol cars lined the street Wednesday evening, and the woman was being questioned at the house surrounded by yellow crime scene tape.

Just across the street, 83-year-old Frank Clark, a former Presbyterian minister who has lived with his wife there since 1970, said he had met the woman, her boyfriend and five children who lived with them. Clark said he didn’t notice any signs that she was troubled.

“I’m obviously perplexed about it,” Clark said. “The greatest responsibility we have in this world is bringing children into the world and raising them right.”

Jones said the woman’s water broke at 5 a.m. Wednesday and that social services notified the sheriff’s office at 3 p.m. Wednesday.

An autopsy is set for Friday to determine whether charges should be filed in the case.