Jury drops charges for Ohio woman who suffered miscarriage

An Ohio woman who suffered from a miscarriage will not be criminally charged for abusing a baby’s corpse, a grand jury decided Thursday.

Initially, authorities charged the Ohio woman with abusing a baby’s corpse, but the jury dismissed the case. Thirty-four-year-old Brittany Watts had experienced vaginal bleeding while she was 21 weeks and five days pregnant.

The St. Joseph Warren Hospital, in Youngstown, Ohio, was were she was taken. Doctors discovered her fetus wasn’t viable, and the hospital called police.

According to Trumbull County Prosecuting Attorney Dennis Watkins, Watts faced a felony charge by the Warren Police Department. A district court sent the case to the Trumbull County grand Jury.

The prosecuting attorney referenced that his department “never assessed the evidence or advised to charging.”

Hospital Officials were not helpful to Watts

Months ago, after seeing Watts, doctors determined that her water broke prematurely, resulting in her cervix becoming dilated. At the same time, she suffered from elevated white blood cell count. Because of Watts’ cardiac activity, the doctors wanted to deliver the fetus despite its nonviable status. Moreover, she was at significant risk of maternal death, sepsis, or “complete placental abruption with catastrophic bleeding.”

Watts was experiencing the same symptoms when she got home, so she returned to the hospital, only to leave without treatment. On September 22, Watts suffered a miscarriage in her bathroom at home. Doctors had to dislocate the placenta so they gave her a dilation and curettage. The hospital officials alerted the Warren City Police Department about Watts’ miscarriage.

Police Officials accused the Ohio Woman of abusing the baby’s corpse

When officials arrived at the scene, they discovered the fetus clogged in the toilet and accused her of abusing the baby’s corpse. According to police, they believe that Watts attempted to flush the fetus’ remains in the bathroom, where she originally stated that she disposed of the baby’s remains in the backyard.

Officials removed and transmitted Watt’s bathroom to a morgue, as it is a source of evidence. Officials pulled it apart to take the fetus from the inside. Before the delivery, the fetus died in utero because of issues with premature rupture of membranes, as stated in the autopsy report.

Previously Criminally Charged

On October 5, police arrested Watts and criminally charged her with the abuse of a corpse. In 1996, the Ohio Legislature adopted a law that made the crime a felony. In November, the Warren City Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted Watts and then sent her to the Trumbull County grand jury.

On January 3, Guy Vorgin, the Trumbull County prosecutor, stated the grand jury postponed its scheduled report. Moreover, the next session will occur in a few weeks. With the grand jury proceedings being kept private, it raised suspicion on the postponement of the latest hearing.

After insufficient evidence, the grand jury returned a “no bill” charge for an indictment against Watts. The Trumbull County Prosecutor’s office ruled in favor of Watts.