A Florida woman allegedly smoked crack cocaine while giving birth to a baby she later tried to dispose of in her backyard.
According to a police report obtained by WPTV, Katrina Kegelman of Clearwater was smoking crack while she gave birth to a baby on her back porch and hid the infant in the backyard. A friend reportedly came over soon after and noticed Kegelman, 24, had blood on her pants. When the friend asked Kegelman where the baby was, the woman allegedly begged her not to call 911.
It is not clear if it was the friend or someone else who called emergency services, but fire rescue did report to the home — and initially, Kegelman allegedly refused to tell them where the baby was. She later gave in to the questioning about the baby’s whereabouts and pointed to her back yard.
The infant is expected to survive. Kegelman was briefly hospitalized before she was booked on a child neglect charge. She is reportedly now free on bail.
Photo: Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office