Two 17-year-old girls were caught shoplifting at the Herald Square Victoria's Secret when a security guard spotted them snatching sexy undergarments off the rack and called police. Officers responded to what seemed like a routine property crime, but as they corralled the girls, store security guards noted a strong odor coming from one of the bags, and when they checked it, they found a dead fetus in a black plastic bag. The fetus appeared to have been hastily wrapped in clothes. The plastic bag was in the bottom of another bag and covered with the stolen undergarments, a source told The Daily News.
The teens have been identified as Tiona Rodriguez, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and Francis Estevez, of Glendale, Queens. Rodriguez was the mother of the baby. She told the police she had had a miscarriage on Wednesday and didn’t know what to do with the fetus, which had matured only five to six months. She was taken to Bellevue Hospital after paramedics arrived and took her out in a wheelchair. Hours later, officials from the medical examiner’s office removed the fetus. Estevez was still being held at the Midtown South police station Thursday night. They have both been charged with petty larceny, but more charges could follow.
The Medical Examiner’s Office was performing an autopsy on the baby, which was believed to be a boy, to determine whether the child was born dead or alive and the cause of death. The results of the autopsy are expected to be released Friday, but according to sources, the baby didn't have signs of trauma. Neighbors and friends said they had no idea Rodriguez, who has a two-year-old son, was pregnant. In recent photos posted online, Rodriguez’s pregnancy was not obvious. However, she did complain of cramps on her Facebook status late Wednesday night.
Ramon Acosta, Rodriguez’s neighbor was interrogated by police after the horrific find at the Victoria’s Secret store. He said police asked him if he had seen her with a lump or if she had any signs that suggested she was pregnant. “I couldn’t really tell because she’s a little heavyset, so I wouldn’t know if she was pregnant, or that’s just her,” he told CBS. “I was in shock,” Acosta added of Thursday’s events. “I caught goosebumps and all that. It’s like, come on, that’s a young, innocent girl to my eyes.
Another neighbor, Zami Ford, also weighed in on the matter. “She’s a good girl. I can’t believe she would do that. Who the hell would do that? That’s sickening.” Ford said she didn’t even realize Rodriguez was pregnant. She said Rodriguez lives with her mother and son. “She goes to school. She does what she has to do. She’s no problem, we grew up together. I’ve known her since she was little. She was probably nervous and didn’t know what to do. She would never hurt anyone.”
“She had to have hidden that pregnancy for a while,” said neighbor Lydia Perez, 50. “I saw her outside here the other day with her family, and her baby. You would never know there were any problems.”
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
