A resident found an abandoned newborn with a heartbreaking note attached to his clothing on the doorstep of an apartment in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday.
The Orlando Police Department said the 1-day-old baby boy was “wrapped in a t-shirt and appeared to be in good health” when he was found at the Willow Key Apartments on Arnold Palmer Drive at 10 a.m. Saturday morning.
Resident Graciela Izaguirre said she heard a baby crying while she ate breakfast with her son and went outside to investigate.
“I just open the door and go outside, and I honestly thought it was a joke, for like the first two seconds, because I saw a baby on the floor,” Izaguirre said. “He was wrapped up in a T-shirt, like a polo shirt, and he was just on the floor crying. Nobody was around.”
Reports state that a note, supposedly written by the child’s mother, was also left at the scene.
“Born at 5:45pm yesterday, July 19, 2019. I had him in the bathroom alone,” the note said. “His dad tried to kill us. Please keep him secret and take him to a hospital. Dad a very dangerous man. I’m so sorry. I tried to feed him and clean him as much as I could.”
Michelle Sperzel, CEO of the domestic violence shelter Harbor House, said she believes the mother was in danger and desperate to save her child’s life.
She commented:
A lot of times abusers use isolation so her friends, parents, they might not have known she was pregnant. I’d like to think this mother was thinking about the best for her child. And if she felt she or baby was in danger and she felt letting go of the child was the right thing, that’s a very courageous decision to make.
Authorities have taken the opportunity to remind the public about the Safe Haven law which states that anyone unable to care for their newborn baby up to 7 days old can take the child to a hospital or fire station, with no repercussions.
Reports state that another baby was found abandoned at the Willow Key Apartment complex in October of 2017 with a note asking whoever found the baby to take the child to a fire station.
“This is crazy,” resident Kimberley Williams told reporters. “This is really really crazy. Why do they keep leaving these babies like this?” she commented.