People v. Westfall

STONE, J.

This is an appeal by the People from an order setting aside a grand jury indictment of defendant for the crime of child abandonment. The macabre facts are these; Dora Louise Westfall, the 16-year-old daughter of defendant, gave birth to a child June 16, 1961. Defendant and Dora's sister assisted in the delivery of the baby. Defendant wrapped the child in a sheet and took it to a garage at the home of a Mrs. Champion in Modesto. Upon discovering the child lying on a cot in her garage, Mrs. Champion notified the authorities, who rushed the baby to a hospital, where it died June 18. Mrs. Champion had never seen the child before, she had no idea where it came from, nor who had left it at her home.

On June 22, defendant was interviewed by the police and gave a statement which, in substance, was that her daughter, Dora, had given birth to a baby about 4 o’clock on June 16; that defendant had cut the umbilical cord, tied it, washed the baby, wrapped it in a sheet and put it in the garage of Mrs. Champion. Defendant also stated that she did not know who occupied the house where she left the baby, or whether anyone lived there. She related that she simply made up her mind to leave the baby at the first place that looked right to her. She added that she did not want the baby around as it would cause too much trouble for her and her daughter; that she wanted to get it away from her husband and away from the house. She also admitted that the child was alive when she left it in the Champion garage; that she expected it to die; that she did not want the child to live.

On June 24, defendant gave another statement to the police, in which she said that in December 1960 her daughter Ruth had also given birth to a child which was alive at the time of birth; that she, defendant, cut the umbilical cord, washed the child, wrapped it in newspapers, and buried it. She stated

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that her daughter Ruth had given birth to another child, that she cleaned it, wrapped it in newspapers and buried it. She stated that in addition to the child here in question, her daughter Dora had given birth to another live child which she, defendant, also wrapped in newspapers and buried. On this occasion she repeated the statement made previously, namely, that on June 16, after Dora had given birth to the child with which this action is concerned, she, defendant, cleaned the baby, wrapped it in a sheet, and abandoned it.