Information on Safe Haven Baby Box cases comes from news reports, SHBB Inc reports on social media, and Blessed to Have Been Abandoned: the Story of the Baby Box Lady by Monica Kelsey. From public reports, these babies were in no danger of discard or death.
1. Blackfoot/Grove Creek Medical Center
Date: October 13, 2024
Baby Information: Dead Girl.
Details: A deceased infant, with placenta attached, was left in the Safe Haven Baby Box in Blackfoot, but the news was not released until October 28, 2024. The baby did NOT die in the box but had been dead for several hours or even days. Blackfoot and Twin Falls Police Departments and prosecutors are investigating. On October 31, police announced that the mother had been located and the baby’s body released to the family. The story was picked up by the wire and appeared in print and visual media throughout the country. Monica Kelsey made TikToks assuring (1) Potential customers and the public that SHBB Inc , though cooperating with police, did not disclose the name of the mother, (unclear that the company even knew her identity) (2) This was an illegal “relinquishment; and the person who left the baby could be prosecuted.
Selected Sources
- Dead newborn found in Safe Haven Baby Box in Blackfoot after “illegal” ‘ abandonment, East Idaho News, October 28, 2024
- Press Release, Deceased Infant Placed in Idaho Safe Haven Baby Box, Facebook Safe Haven Baby Boxes, Inc, .October 28, 2024
- Twin Falls Police investigating dead newborn found in Safe Haven Baby Box, KIVI-TV, October 28, 2024
- Clarity on Safe Haven Baby Boxes after baby found dead in Idaho box, KTVB-TV, October 29, 2004
- Safe Haven baby boxes are for saving healthy babies; dead baby found in Blackfoot could lead to charges, KITV-TV, October 28, 2024
- Sick to my stomach: Baby found dead at Safe Haven box at Idaho hospital, USA Today, October 30, 2024
- VIDEO: Update on the case where a deceased newborn was placed in our baby box. Safe Haven Baby Box Inc TikTok, October 31, 2024
- Idaho Safe Haven Baby Box , Fireflynu/Daily Kos, November 1, 2024
Updatead November 1, 2024