Pittsburgh Woman Charged With Abuse of Corpse After Baby Is Found in Her Freezer
Friday , May 18, 2007
PITTSBURGH —
A woman was charged with abuse of a corpse Thursday after police found the remains of a baby in her freezer.
Police charged Christine Hutchinson, 22, of Pittsburgh, after interviewing her Thursday evening, several hours after the remains were found in her apartment.
Officers got a tip from someone who knew Hutchinson that there was "possibly a baby that was dead and was in a freezer in an apartment in Bloomfield," a working-class neighborhood several miles east of downtown, Pittsburgh police Cmdr. Thomas Stangrecki said.
Detectives found what initially appeared to be a late-term fetus in a brown bag in the freezer, police said, though it wasn't immediately clear whether the remains resulted from a miscarriage, late-term abortion or a death shortly after birth.
But later, Lt. Daniel Herrmann said the abuse of a corpse charge applies only to human beings.
Under the law, he said, a fetus is not considered a human being. 
An autopsy was scheduled for Friday. Police said that they did not believe the death was recent but gave no further details.
Police also questioned the woman's ex-boyfriend but said they do not believe he was the father. He was not charged.
Hutchinson was in custody awaiting arraignment late Thursday. A criminal complaint and police affidavit were not immediately released.
It was not immediately known whether Hutchinson had an attorney.
Pittsburgh Woman Charged With Abuse of Corpse After Baby Is Found in Her Freezer
