Sheriff: North Carolina mother hid newborn baby in closet

MONROE, N.C. – A North Carolina sheriff’s office says it has charged a woman with first-degree murder and felony child abuse after an investigation showed she hid a newborn baby in a closet to conceal the fact that she had been pregnant.

The Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday that deputies responding to a 911 call from her husband on Sunday found 27-year-old Khrystina Marie Rice of Indian Trail on a bathroom floor and bleeding.

Investigators say paramedics later found a newborn infant tightly wrapped in a blanket inside of a trash bag in a bedroom closet. The sheriff’s office says paramedics performed CPR, but the infant died at a hospital.

Rice, who has two other children, has been jailed without bond. It’s not known if she has an attorney.