A 26-year-old woman in Melbourne has pleaded guilty to endangering the life of her newborn baby after the child was found outside a home in Dandenong North.
Irine Jerotich appeared in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, where she admitted to reckless conduct endangering life but denied an earlier charge of causing injury, which prosecutors have since dropped.
According to PEOPLE, Police said the incident happened around 2:30 a.m. on August 30, when neighbours discovered the infant inside a plastic bag on a concrete surface outside a property on Gladstone Road.
The baby was rushed to hospital in serious condition but survived.
Court documents allege Jerotich gave birth inside the home before throwing the newborn out of a bathroom window while still enclosed in the bag, an act prosecutors said placed the child at risk of death.
Neighbours told reporters they were shocked by the case, saying they had not been aware Jerotich was pregnant.
“We just woke up and there was an incident and we had to call triple zero, and they came and helped us,” one person told PEOPLE.
Jerotich has been released on bail under strict conditions and is now required to live at her registered address, remain within Victoria, and return to court for a pre-sentence hearing in February.
Victoria Police are yet to release further details on the child’s recovery, though sources indicate that the baby is still under care.
The case has drawn widespread attention in Melbourne, with many residents expressing concern over the circumstances that led to the incident.