A Florida woman handed her infant child to a stranger — but it turns out, the woman was not randomly chosen.
“Some girl just came up and abandoned her baby at my door,” the unidentified woman told a 911 dispatcher. “She just pushed the baby in the door and walked away. I don’t know her name. I have no idea who she is.”
The report indicates that the woman had a brief conversation with the young mother, who police have identified as 33-year-old Melissa Kelley. Kelley reportedly told the woman that she was unable to care for the child, and that his father would come for him.
“She came up and just left her baby. I said, ‘You are leaving your baby with me?’ And she said yes. I said, ‘You are abandoning your baby,’” the resident who received the infant reportedly told the dispatcher.
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According to the report, a subsequent investigation found that the father of Kelley’s baby is dating the daughter of the woman who answered the door — but that woman did not initially realize the connection. It is unclear from the report if the girlfriend of Kelly’s ex lives at the same residence.
WESH obtained video of Ring doorbell-camera footage showing the mother standing on the doorstep holding a baby carrier.
Police told the news station that Kelley was distraught over an apparently recent breakup with the baby’s father, and had previously threatened to harm herself with drugs. In a text message to the man, she also indicated she may hurt her child.
“[P]lease don’t make me throw this baby in the trash,” one of the messages read, according to the report.
Police reportedly found Kelley hours after she abandoned her baby, near woods in nearby Astor, where she lives. According to the report, Kelley left the child in a soiled diaper and warned the woman that the infant had scabies.
The baby boy reportedly received medical treatment, and is now in the custody of Department of Children and Families.
Kelley was arrested and charged with child desertion and child neglect. It is unclear if she is still in police custody.
Listen to the audio of the 911 call here:
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