Holly Ashcraft, a 22-year-old student of the University of Southern California (USC) is currently facing trial for the murder of her 8-month-old premature son. The infant, who weighed only four pounds, was found in a dumpster near Ashcraft’s Los Angeles apartment last year. Michael Lee Walker, the homeless man who found him testified that the infant was found inside a box, wrapped in a towel. Police also found envelopes addressed to Ashcraft in the same box.

In a separate incident, in Apr. 2004, Ashcraft claimed that she gave birth to a stillborn infant, and disposed of it on her own. She was examined at a Los Angeles hospital, where she showed up bleeding reportedly right after giving birth. The infant’s body was never discovered, and Ashcraft was never charged or investigated for the incident.

After the most recent incident, Ashcraft was examined at the USC Medical Center, where a female nurse found evidence Ashcraft had recently given birth. Ashcraft’s DNA is a match to the baby. Ashcraft’s statement to the police was contradictory. She first said that she had been at her house all weekend, and then said that she was at the beach and the library.’ Ashcraft, pending a $2 million bail, will be arraigned on Nov. 15. Ashcraft may face as much as 25 years to life.

California has a ‘Safe Surrender’ law, which allows a person to anonymously drop off a baby at either a hospital or a fire station within 72 hours. Ashcraft lived within a two-minute drive from a fire station. The time between the dumpster where the infant was found and the fire station is only 42 seconds.

The infant’s autopsy report confirmed homicide due to ‘caretaker neglect.’ It also said that intentional asphyxia, a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body due to suffocation, could have been a cause of death. David Whiteman, the Deputy medical examiner on board, ruled that the baby was born alive after a 32-week pregnancy.

Mark Geragos, Ashcraft’s defense attorney, will be arguing that Ashcraft’s baby was born dead. If he was indeed born alive, Geragos will argue that Ashcraft did not have the intent to murder him. The medical examiner found air in the infant’s lungs, which is lends credibility to his theory that the infant was born alive. The coroner’s investigator at the scene discovered that the child was covered in blood and birth discharge. Approximately ten inches of his umbilical cord was still attached. His umbilical cord was three vessels, which is considered normal, and not indicative of any birth defects.

USC witnessed a similar incident eight years ago with Linda Chu, who was then a 20-year-old business major. Chu was sentenced to ten years in prison for killing her newborn daughter and dropping her into a trash chute at Century.

USC’s response has been to advertise its readily-available counseling service, which includes a crisis response team for urgent concerns.

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