Can anyone direct me to the crime that would apply for a mother burying a fetus in her backyard (no accusation that the fetus died by acts of the mom, but lots of accusations of the way the 7 kids in the house are being raised)? Does a fetus count as human corpse under 42.08?

How about 37.09(d)(2)? It's a class A that sounds like it might fit your situation except the part in which a reasonable person would have to believe that an offense had been committed. I'm not sure if you've got that with what you've mentioned.

Yes, that's what I thought, too--the person who claims the fetus was buried has no information on how the fetus died. And I guess there is no showing that it was "disintered," either.

So what law states that authorities have to be notified when someone dies, even of natural causes?

Check with the Williamson County DA's office. They had a similar case crop up several months ago when a woman confessed to dumping her dead fetus in a dumpster. It resulted in a search of the landfill, but they never found the body. I believe she pled out on a charge relating to disposition of a dead body.

Janette Ansolabehere

Austin American-Statesman (Texas)
August 17, 2005 Wednesday

Charge filedin dumping of dead baby;
Woman's confession spurred futile search of landfill for body of stillborn in June

Melissa Ludwig, AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF

A woman accused of dumping her stillborn infant in a trash bin outside her home near Taylor in June has been arrested, Williamson County sheriff's deputies said Tuesday.

LeeAnn Marie Penny, 18, has been charged with abuse of a corpse, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail and a $4,000 fine. She is being held in the Williamson County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail.

Penny's June 7 admission to detectives that she had given birth to a stillborn infant and thrown it away sent officers in search of the body in the 290-acre Sunset Farms landfill in Travis County, said Detective John Foster, a spokesman for the department. More than 300 public safety workers from area agencies spent four days in the sticky heat sifting through tons of garbage, Foster said. They found nothing.

Without a body, officers do not know for certain whether the baby was born dead or alive, Foster said. Abuse of corpse charges were filed after consulting with the district and county attorney, he said.

"Although these charges may not be what I or the community had hoped for, we must be professional and fair in the search for justice," Foster said. "We had to look at what she admitted to and what law fit those circumstances."

Foster said Penny went to the Georgetown Hospital emergency room after giving birth June 6. The next day, a doctor confirmed that Penny had given birth to a full-term baby, he said. Penny told officers she had put the baby in a trash bag and placed it in a bin outside her house, a cream-colored manufactured home on Bryant Road.

A girl who identified herself as Penny's sister answered the door of the house Tuesday and declined to comment.

State law defines the charge against Penny as treating a human corpse in a "seriously offensive manner."

"There is no question . . . placing a baby in a bag and throwing it into the trash is offensive," Foster said.

Williamson County Attorney Jana Duty said Penny probably received no prenatal care and was trying to hide the pregnancy from her parents.

Penny also has a 1-year-old son who was removed from her custody by state workers, said Chris Van Deusen, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He said the child has been placed with relatives who live in the same home as Penny.

Duty said Penny is not allowed to be with her child without supervision and is taking parenting classes and getting counseling.

"When you go into labor, it is important that you go to a hospital or call 911 so that you are not alone when the baby is born," Duty said. "If the baby has health issues, they can be addressed immediately. That is the only way this baby would have had a chance."

If the baby had been born alive, Duty said, Penny could have taken advantage of the so-called Baby Moses law. The law, passed in 1999, gives parents immunity from prosecution if they bring unwanted infants fewer than 60 days old to a fire station or hospital.

thanks!