Mother Abandons her Newborn baby in Trash During Heatwave

“Ogya”

In an apartment trash bin, residents heard faint crying coming from a plastic bag. They opened it to find a naked baby inside. The residents quickly called 110 in a panic.

 

In the evening of June 20th, shortly after 6:30 PM, a newborn boy was rescued from a trash bin in an apartment in Nerima Ward, Tokyo. The day’s high temperature exceeded 28°C. The infant, in a state of anemia, was promptly taken to the hospital. Though his condition was critical, he survived and was spared from a potentially fatal outcome under the circumstances.

“On July 3rd, Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s First Investigation Division arrested Noa Kitagawa (22), a mother of unknown occupation, on suspicion of attempted murder. Kitagawa allegedly abandoned a newborn baby, with umbilical cord still attached, naked inside a plastic bag wrapped in a towel in a trash bin early in the morning on June 20th. She closed the lid and left the scene.

The baby was found approximately 12 hours later. The depth of the trash bin was about 60cm. Surveillance footage around the scene implicated Kitagawa. Due to the possibility that the baby could have died in the extreme heat if not discovered promptly, she was arrested on suspicion of murder.”(national newspaper’s social affairs reporter)

A photographer for this magazine captured Kitagawa’s demeanor shortly after her arrest. She emerged from the police station wearing a bright red sweater, looking downcast inside the transport vehicle.

Four people, two men and two women, living together in an unusual arrangement.

 

Kitagawa, the suspect who lived in the neighboring apartment where the baby was abandoned in the trash bin, reportedly shared an apartment with one man and three women in an unusual communal arrangement.

“They lived together, a man and three women including Kitagawa, without romantic involvement. What they had in common was being fans of underground idols. The man initiated contact, and they started cramped communal living in a 7-tatami room with a kitchen. The other three besides Kitagawa claim they didn’t notice her pregnancy. The man denies being the father of the abandoned baby.” (according to the same source)

What’s astonishing is Kitagawa’s statement and the motive behind abandoning the baby.

“In the communal apartment’s bathroom where they lived, it appears Kitagawa gave birth to the baby,” reports another national newspaper journalist. Kitagawa stated, ‘Immediately after giving birth, I threw the baby into the trash. I didn’t have any intent to kill, but there’s no mistake that I abandoned the baby.'”

 

Additionally, it’s reported she said, ‘I didn’t look closely, so I don’t know the baby’s gender.’ Regarding the motive, she explained, ‘I didn’t want anyone to find out I had given birth, so I disposed of the baby.'”(national newspaper reporter)

 

As of July 5th, the father of the baby boy remains unknown. Police are continuing to investigate the details further.