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East Boston teen pleads not guilty to charges she threw baby out the window

Print Posted by John Ellement October 12, 2010 04:54 PM

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By Brian R. Ballou and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff

An East Boston teen gave birth to her son in the bathroom and then threw the child out the window where he landed in an alleyway 17 feet below, naked and with the umbilical cord still attached, a Suffolk prosecutor said today.

The teen, Eva Flores, pleaded not guilty in East Boston Municipal Court to reckless endangerment of a child and other charges stemming from the Sept. 20 birth of her son.

Flores, 18, later saw her son briefly at the hospital and gave him a name -- she called him Angel, officials said.

Suffolk Assistant District Attorney Leora C. Joseph said in court that Boston police have learned Flores went into the bathroom of the Saratoga Street home she shared with her mother and her younger stepbrother around 10 p.m.

Flores stepped into the bathtub where she gave birth to the boy, Joseph said. Flores pushed the afterbirth into the drain of the bath and then opened the bathroom window and threw her son out, the prosecutor said.

Neighbors heard the baby crying and called police. Officers found the infant around 10:05 p.m., police have said.

Joseph said today that doctors at Massachusetts General Hospital believe the child's injuries are serious. He has suffered abrasions of the head and face, hypothermia, hemorrhaging, seizures and bleeding at multiple points.

She said it is possible the child will have some permanent damage as a result of the injuries. She said he was on special equipment in the MGH neonatal unit until last week.

"It's a very sad, and very strange, case,'' Leora told reporters.

Flores, officials said, moved to the US from El Salvador about four months ago. While living with her mother, she has been attending East Boston High School, officials said. She apparently is an illegal immigrant who may face deportation if she posts the $1,500 cash bail.

Her attorney, David A. Bell, said in court that Flores has been under the care of a psychiatrist since the incident. He did not offer a possible explanation for her alleged abuse of the infant.

Flores's face was largely obscured during the arraignment and she listened to the court proceedings with the help of a Spanish interpreter.

No one from her family appeared to have attended the court hearing. Flores is due back in court Nov. 1.

The Department of Children and Families took legal custody of the child, who was reported to be in good condition after he was found. Joseph said Flores's mother has expressed interest in raising the boy.