Mom left newborn baby to die in vacant Trenton building, cops say

TRENTON — The mother of an infant found abandoned in a vacant building has been charged with her death.

Yardis Perez-Perez, 27 left the girl inside an abandoned residence on South Broad Street in Trenton last Monday shortly after giving birth, and didn't provide any care for the child, according to Mercer County Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri.

She was taken into custody last Friday and is being held at the Mercer County Correction Center pending a detention hearing on Wednesday.

Perez-Perez is charged with second-degree manslaughter and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

Perez-Perez was arrested in connection with the robbery of a 46-year-old man in November, 2016, according to a news story by NJ.com.

The child was the second abandoned in Trenton last week, and the fourth statewide in recent weeks.

On April 15, police said a newborn was left in a duffel bag on a stranger's porch. The baby was believed to 24 to 48 hours old, according to police. The child was taken to a hospital and was listed in good condition.

On April 11, a dead baby, recently identified as a missing child from Virginia, was found on the PATH railroad tracks in Jersey City.

In Highland Park, a 14-year-old girl is facing charges for allegedly abandoning her newborn child next to a stranger's home. The child later died in a hospital.

New Jersey has a safe haven law that allows babies to be given up anonymously. The safe haven program allows someone to drop off a baby at any police station, hospital, fire department or first aid squads that are manned 24-7, with no questions asked and no threat of any criminal prosecution.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ