Texas mother charged after newborn found covered with ants

HOUSTON – A Houston-area woman has been charged with felony child abandonment after officials say her newborn daughter was found covered with ants in an apartment complex flower bed.

Harris County jail records show 21-year-old Sidney Woytasczyk (WOY’-tah-chik) of Spring was being held Tuesday on $20,000 bond. Online records don’t list an attorney for Woytasczyk, whose initial court appearance was Monday.

Another resident found the baby last Thursday. Woytasczyk was arrested after investigators followed a trail of blood to her apartment, where she’d given birth hours earlier.

Sheriff’s Deputy Kimberly Thomas says the mother told authorities she didn’t know she was pregnant and feared the baby would come between her and the father, who’s not charged.

A judge will decide who gets custody of the baby, who’s hospitalized with a bacterial infection.