The teenage mother of a newborn found dead at a Marietta home last week now faces a charge of felony murder, officials said Friday.
The girl, 17-year-old Leticia Rodriguez, was arrested Sunday after family members found her attempting to bury her baby boy and called police, authorities said. When Marietta officers arrived, the boy was already dead but had not been buried.
His cause of death has not been released, and it is not clear who the father was.
Rodriguez was initially charged with concealing a death, abuse of a dead body and abandonment of a dead body. On Friday, police said warrants for felony murder and aggravated assault had been secured but did not share any additional information.
“Because this is an ongoing, active investigation and there is no danger to the community as relates to this case, we anticipate no further updates,” police spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy said.
According to police, Rodriguez had given birth several hours before attempting to bury her baby, and no one offered the teen assistance at the home. She needed medical attention, officials said, and was taken to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital before being booked Wednesday into the Cobb County jail, where she remained Friday with no bond.
The newborn was “clearly injured,” authorities said at the time. There were signs of physical trauma, police added, but said the medical examiner would have to determine if the baby was stillborn. It is not clear if the autopsy had been completed as of Friday.
The boy “appeared to be a fully formed or full-sized child,” McPhilamy said at the time of the discovery, adding that the incident “defied logic.”
A motive has not been disclosed by police. Investigators are looking into whether the family knew Rodriguez was pregnant.
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