A woman arrested by Jersey City Police and charged for leaving her newborn in a plastic shopping bag in an alley made her first court appearance on Thursday afternoon.

 

Rosibel Christina Lanza on video during court appearance
Rosibel Christina Lanza on video during court appearance (WABC TV)
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39-year-old Rosibel Christina Lanza did not speak during her appearance for a hearing via video from the Hudson County House of Corrections.

Her brother Melvin told the Jersey Journal the family was unaware of her pregnancy.

Lanza was arrested on Wednesday night according to the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office, who tells WABC  that Lanza gave delivered the baby boy last Saturday night.

Prosecutor Gaetano Gregory says Lanza put the child into the bag stuffed with paper towels and toilet paper and put it in the alley behind an apartment building.

Boys playing in the alley heard the baby moving in the bag and alerted the building's superintenden.  His wife, Rebecca Womers, went to the baby's aid.and found the baby covered in blood with its umbilical cord still attached and with its nose and mouth stuffed with tissue paper. She then cleaned and cared for the baby until emergency crews arrived.

Lanza was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and child abuse which carries a potential sentence of 10 years.

The boy, who weighed 3-pounds and was born 11-days early, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center. Staff at the hospital named the boy "Miracle Boy" and "Moses" according to the Jersey Journal.

Lanza will have a bail hearing today as well.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

 

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