Woman not guilty over baby in Walmart toilet
Woman who left baby in Walmart toilet is not guilty of abandonment.
A Canadian woman who gave birth in a Walmart toilet and left the newborn there has been found not guilty of abandoning the child.
Justice Neil Gabrielson ruled the Crown did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that April Halkett, 22, had planned to leave the newborn behind, according to the Canadian Press.
“This was not a case of abandonment but rather a case of a scared young woman being confronted with unexpected circumstances involving a precipitous birth and a pale, motionless child because the child was in a shock-like state,” the judge said.
“She responded to these circumstances in an obviously inappropriate way in leaving the child in the toilet.
“However negligent her actions may have been, they were not criminal in nature.”
Halkett testified that she went to use the washroom and was surprised when blood ran down her legs and a baby dropped into the toilet, the Canadian Press reported.
Defence lawyer Ajay Krishan said Halkett planned to reapply for custody of the boy.
The toddler is a “rambunctious little guy,” according to the man who, together with his wife, is caring for the child, the Canadian Press reported.
