VICTORVILLE-(VVNG.com): The horrific discovery of a newborn baby girl deceased behind a Victorville city sign left the community shocked, saddened and for some, angry. The question asked over and over again; Who would leave a newborn baby out in below freezing temperature?
Still no one knows what was going through 38-year-old Teresa Reed’s mind as she discarded the baby girl who she just gave birth to in a Victorville parking lot sometime between the late night of Saturday, December 5th and the early morning of Sunday, December 6th, 2015.
No one but Reed even knows if the baby was alive at the time the newborn was discarded in the parking lot on the corner or 7th Street and Green Tree Boulevard. The Sheriff’s Coroner report, which is still pending, will determine the cause of death for the baby known as “Baby Doe”.
The baby was found just before noon on December 6, 2015, by a woman walking in the area. The woman asked another woman walking in the area to verify her findings. Once her findings were confirmed, of the discolored lifeless baby girl authorities were notified.
The investigation quickly led authorities to Reed, a transient. Reed was located, questioned and arrested on the 15000 block of 8th Street in Victorville on Monday, December 6, 2015. The location where she was located was serving as a temporary location for the Victor Valley Rescue Mission warming shelter. The staff at the warming shelter were helpful in assisting the deputies as they were looking for Reed.
The Director of the Victor Valley Rescue Mission, Bill Edwards told Victor Valley News, “Police came by early in the morning and asked if there was a person that matched her name at the shelter. The shelter offered them the logs of people who stayed for the night. Authorities waited for the woman to come out and that is when they arrested her.”
Edwards said when she arrived, there was no indication that something like this had just occurred or that Reed was in any kind of trouble, he said wished she had came sooner while she was still pregnant, so they could have offered her resources.
On December 17, 2015, the mental capacity of Reed came into question during a court hearing. There was information that indicated that Reed suffered from Schizophrenia, and the court requested a full mental evaluation before they could proceed with the case.
Reed, her Public Defender, the Deputy District Attorney appeared in court on Monday to discuss the mental health findings. Reed was found to be mentally incompetent to stand trial. The court case remains suspended, and Reed is due back on February 24th for follow up on mental health findings.
Meanwhile, Reed remains in custody at the West Valley Detention Center in lieu of $1 million bail.
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