20-year-old arrested in Iowa, suspected of fatally injuring newborn and placing her in trash bag

Stephanie Ubaldo, a 20-year-old employee at a daycare center in Perry, Iowa, has been arrested on a charge of first-degree murder following the death of a newborn.

Perry police said the young woman was arrested on Thursday, September 17, and is currently being held in the Dallas County Jail.

The case began at around 5:00 p.m. on September 15, after emergency services received a report of a woman experiencing vaginal bleeding at the Acorns & Oaks Child Care center. The woman was taken to the hospital.

Then, at around 6:22 p.m., police were informed that a premature newborn may have been placed in a trash can inside the daycare center. About 10 minutes after the report, officers found the newborn’s lifeless body inside a trash bag.

Court documents state that the newborn was a girl, fully developed and with the umbilical cord still attached. She was also reported to have suffered head injuries.

According to the criminal complaint, Ubaldo told investigators that she had given birth to the baby in the daycare center’s bathroom. She is suspected of causing injuries to the newborn’s face while trying to stop her from crying.

Authorities clarified that the newborn was not a client of the daycare center and was not in the institution’s care.

Police also highlighted Iowa’s Safe Haven law. The law allows parents or authorized individuals, provided they comply with the stipulated conditions, to safely surrender a baby up to 90 days old at designated locations without facing criminal prosecution for abandonment.