DANBURY – A mother, accused of abandoning her newborn baby behind a grocery store, appeared in court Friday where a protective order was signed.
Anny Castillo, 22, legally agreed to have no contact with the 8-week-old baby. He is now in DCF custody. Danbury Police said Castillo turned herself in on an active warrant, Thursday.
The warrant was the result of an investigation by the Danbury Police Special Victim’s Unit after the discovery of the a newborn baby boy behind a grocery store around 11:40 p.m. on May 21.
The person that found the baby quickly called 911. Danbury police found the baby and admitted him to the neonatal care unit at Danbury Hospital.
Hospital staff said the baby was no more than a day old. According to the warrant, a nurse told police that the baby had tremors, which is usually associated with drug dependency, but there were no immediate medical concerns.
The baby was found wrapped in women’s clothing. Images of that clothing were made public and helped lead police to the mother.
A family member told police he recognized the t-shirt the baby was wrapped in. According to the warrant, the shirt belongs to a specific church they attend. Family members say they approached Castillo about the shirt and encouraged her to go to police.
On May 26, Anny Castillo came to the Danbury Police Department with family members and friends and confirmed she was the mother of the baby.
In an interview with police, Castillo said she discovered she was pregnant, in the fall, through a home pregnancy test. She said she did not go to a doctor or take prenatal vitamins.
She told police she met the baby’s father online, and met up with him at hotels that ended in sexual encounters. She claims when she told him she was pregnant, he blocked her from communicating with him.
Castillo told police she did not tell anyone else she was pregnant and gave birth to the baby in her bedroom.
“She stated the baby fell off the bed and onto the hardwood floor as she delivered him,” according to the warrant.
She told police she cut off the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors. Castillo spent the day in her room with the baby, thinking about what she should do.
“She stated she wasn’t confident enough in herself to tell somebody and she was worried about the baby dying from not having enough food, so she acted and placed the baby outside hoping someone would find him and take care of him,” according to the warrant.
Police arrested Castillo on child abandonment, risk of injury, and cruelty to persons.
Connecticut does have a safe haven law. Under the law — any parent can give up their baby up to 30 days old, no questions asked. They can bring the newborn to any hospital throughout the state.
Nurses are trained to take the baby and contact the Department of Children and Families, to find the child a safe home. The safe haven law has been used 27 times since it was passed in the year 2000. Eleven babies have been saved in the past five years
According to the warrant, Castillo did not know about the law, but lives a 3 minute walk from The Danbury Police Department, 4 minutes from Padanaram Hose Co. and about 20 minutes from Danbury Hospital.
Castillo is due back in Danbury Superior Court, August 18.
You can read the full arrest warrant here.