Girl, 16, confirmed mother of baby found on Hermosa trash can: police

By Sam Kelly

A 16-year-old girl has been determined to be the mother of a baby left abandoned on a trash can Tuesday in Hermosa on the Northwest Side.

Detectives questioned the girl overnight and confirmed that she was the mother of the baby, Chicago Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said in a tweet. Police are now questioning the girl and the baby’s father, according to Guglielmi.

A woman and her daughter first noticed the baby boy, who still had his umbilical cord attached, in an alley in the 1700 block of North Keystone Avenue, Chicago Fire Dept. Field Chief Patrick Fitzmaurice said at a news conference. They brought the baby to a nearby firehouse, where paramedics performed emergency procedures on the baby and took it to Norwegian American Hospital, where its condition was stabilized before being transferred on to Lurie Children’s Hospital

“This poor kid was minutes away from having no chance at all,” Fitzmaurice said. “The baby was cold as concrete. I wasn’t ready to lose this one, and neither were the emergency personnel.”

Guglielmi declined to elaborate on how detectives came to the conclusion that the 16-year-old girl was the mother, citing the ongoing investigation. The family of Marlen Ochoa-Uriostegui, a pregnant woman who went missing April 23 from Little Village, initially believed the baby might be hers.

“It’s a miracle that the baby survived and we are certainly very grateful and thankful for that, and right now we are exploring the appropriate next steps,” Guglielmi said.