A 20-year-old woman could face criminal charges after she apparently miscarried at a Manhattan restaurant last week, leaving the fetus behind and clogging the toilet, officials said this week.
The male child, believed to be 22 to 23 weeks gestation and weighing just over a pound, was discovered just before 10 a.m. Sept. 30 inside the restroom at Sophie’s Cuban Cuisine on Fulton Street near Gold Street downtown, cops said.
“As of right now, the [medical examiner’s office] states that it’s possible that the fetus had taken one or two breaths, but not enough to sustain life,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Tuesday.
Investigators believe the woman, a customer at the eatery the day before, went to the bathroom, where she likely miscarried, Kenny said.
“She leaves the bathroom, and employees are alerted that the bathroom is dirty,” the chief said. “The next day they come in and find that it’s clogged.”
The workers soon found the fetus inside the toilet, with its placenta and umbilical cord still attached, according to the police official.
There was “nothing abnormal about the child,” Kenny said.
The NYPD is now discussing the next steps with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“Most likely, it would lead to [the mom’s] arrest for concealment of a human corpse, which is an E felony,” Kenny said.