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Mom Of Newborn Found Dead At Recycling Center To Undergo 2nd Competency Exam

ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - The mother of a newborn boy whose lifeless body was found at a recycling center in Roseville will undergo a second psychological exam to determine if she's competent to stand trial.

Angela Alexie's attorney requested the independent exam during a pretrial hearing earlier this week in Macomb County Circuit Court, where she is charged with felony murder and first-degree child abuse charges. A state-administered exam in March indicated that Alexie did not lack criminal culpability and was competent for trial.

Depending on the results from the second exam, Alexie's attorney could possibly pursue an insanity plea for the 25-year-old woman, who has three other children.

Police say Alexie gave birth in an unheated garage in Eastpointe on Dec. 22, using her teeth to sever the umbilical cord. She left the newborn in garage, which had a broken window, while she went back to the warmth inside her friend's house — returning every now and again to check on the child.

"No food, no water, no clothing, no warmth, no blanket, no protection against the elements — this child had no chance," Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Cataldo has said. "There are a ton of options she could have used. That child was 15 feet from a door that would have led that child to warmth."

The baby died two days later, authorities determined, likely from exposure to cold weather. His frozen body, wrapped in a T-shirt, was discovered at a recycling center in nearby Roseville on January 14. Authorities unofficially named the baby Henry Alexander Macomb.

Alexie admitted the child was hers, but said that she did not leave the boy in a recycling container. She was homeless and unemployed when she gave birth.

Defense attorney Steve Kaplan said Alexie is very remorseful over her baby's death. He believes she didn't purposefully kill the newborn.

"My client is responsible for he child's death, but we do not believe that she intended to physically harm the child or cause seriously great bodily harm," Kaplan said. "We think that the appropriate charges are involuntary man slaughter and second-degree child abuse."

Prosecutors contend that Alexie hid her pregnancy out of embarrassment. She remains jailed on a $1 million bond ahead of a Sept. 29 pretrial conference.

 

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