Teen Mom Who Shoplifted at Victoria Secret With Dead Baby Gave Birth to Live 8 ½ lb. Boy; Police Investigate if Murder Was Involved
The 17-year-old teen mom Tiona Rodriguez was found to have lied and had given birth to an alive, 8 ½ pound boy that was 8 months old, according to an autopsy. Rodriguez had initially told police that she was 6 month pregnant and had a miscarriage and didn't know what to do with the baby when Victoria Secret security guards had found the corpse in her bag after suspicion that she shoplifted from the store.
Rodriguez, already a mom to a 2-year-old boy, was found to have placed the dead baby in a black plastic bag inside her canvas bag, according to New York Daily News. Security guards at Victoria Secret in Herald Square, New York, had searched her bag for suspected stolen lingerie when they also caught whiff of a strong foul smell emanating from the bag.
After security guards made the gruesome discovery, they contacted homicide detectives to notify them about the decomposing baby in the bag.
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Rodriguez, who lives in Brooklyn with her mom and 2-year-old son, claims that she miscarried the baby on Wednesday. She was shopping at Victoria Secret with friend Francis Estevez, 17, of Glendale, Queens, on Thursday when the shocking discovery was made.
Both Rodriguez and Estevez have been charged with stealing lingerie and cosmetics from Victoria Secret. Police are still looking into causes for the baby's death, which may take another two weeks as they await results.
While Rodriguez has no past criminal record, Estevez was charged for stealing in August and for arson in June.
Upon news of Rodriguez being caught with a dead baby in her bag, neighbor Ramon Acosta told CBS on Thursday that, "I couldn't really tell [she was pregnant] because she was heavyset."
"I was in shock. I caught goosebumps and all that. It's like come on, that's a young innocent girl to my eyes."
Earlier in the week, Rodriguez had revealed that she was excited about a job interview at Chipotle on her Facebook page – which has since been disabled – on Tuesday. She complained of cramps on Wednesday, the day she claims she had a miscarriage. "These Cramps SON- ________," she posted on her Facebook page.
People who heard news about the dead baby have posted on Rodriguez's Facebook page, lashing out at her shocking and incomprehensible action.
"Just so you know, if it turns out that the baby was born alive, I sincerely hope that you get what's coming to you. And if not, I hope you seek the psychological help that you need. No matter the situation, holding on to a dead body and carrying it around in a shopping bag is not normal by any means," wrote Trisha Wild on Rodriguez's page.
"I don't buy that she didn't know she was pregnant if she already had a child to begin with. You know what kind of crampy feeling you have when you're in labor and have strong contractions. If she didn't want the baby she could've gone to any safe haven like a police station, fire station, church, hospital to give the baby over to them," wrote Katie Egan on the teen's Facebook page.
"Don't go around with a dead baby and shop lift! As far as I heard on the news she didn't miscarry she had a preterm baby. She needs to be punished for a crime that she committed; that poor baby didn't deserve to die. I don't see how she could be a good mom to her other child after going about her day like her newborn baby isn't dead. It makes me sick that we live in a world like this!" she added.
