Trial under way for California woman accused of putting baby born from affair in trash bin
By APWednesday, July 21, 2010
Trial begins in case of Calif. baby found in trash
FULLERTON, Calif. — Opening statements have begun in the trial of a Southern California woman accused of putting her newborn baby in a trash bin because she became pregnant during an affair.
Prosecutors on Wednesday showed jurors in Orange County a photo of a healthy baby girl born to 39-year-old Shawn Sepulveda in August 2008.
Prosecutors say the Laguna Niguel woman hid her pregnancy and abandoned the infant because her husband wasn’t the baby’s father.
Sepulveda’s then-11-year-old daughter discovered the baby in a trash bin at the family’s apartment complex and alerted apartment staff, who called 911.
The baby was transported to a hospital and taken into protective custody.
Prosecutors say Sepulveda could be sentenced to life in state prison if convicted of attempted murder and child abuse.
