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Iowa woman accused of leaving baby for dead gets probation

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September 2nd, 2017 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — An Iowa City woman accused of leaving her newborn for dead in a trash can has been sentenced to probation. The Press-Citizen reports that 24-year-old Ashley Hautzenrader was sentenced Friday to five years’ probation in lieu of a prison time. She pleaded guilty last month to child endangerment and to neglect or abandonment of a dependent person.

Authorities say Hautzenrader gave birth May 8, 2016, in a bathroom at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and tried to flush the baby down a toilet. She then put the baby in a pillowcase and left it in the trash. The child was found alive.

Hautzenrader told the court Friday she had been dealing with her first child’s serious heart condition for more than a year. A psychiatrist testified Hautzenrader suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder at the time of her second child’s birth.