PA Stepdad Buried 14-Year-Old s Newborn In Backyard Days After Secret Birth: Affidavit

Within hours, a newborn girl who had been surreptitiously born in a Milton bedroom to a 14-year-old died. According to court documents obtained by Daily Voice on Tuesday, July 8, the teen’s stepfather used garden shears to dig a small backyard grave where her decomposing body was found by the next morning.

A newborn on its back.

Milton Borough Police said that 29-year-old Donan Antonio Maradiaga-Orellana buried the full-term baby behind his Center Street house in the middle of the night and tried to hide the death without telling anybody. As a result, he was taken into custody on Wednesday, July 2.

He is being jailed on $75,000 bail at the Northumberland County Jail on misdemeanor charges of tampering with physical evidence, preventing apprehension, abusing a corpse, and concealing a child’s death.

Secret Pregnancy, Secret Birth

The mother of the child, known in court documents as EA, is fourteen years old. According to a search warrant and statement of probable cause, she gave birth to the child by herself in her bedroom on Sunday, June 29, at approximately 2:30 a.m.

EA acknowledged that she had concealed her pregnancy for months by wearing loose clothing, pretending to have her period, and lying about having morning sickness. She secretly gave birth to a girl, who she subsequently reported to the authorities was alive but had respiratory problems. EA claimed that while attempting to tend to the infant, she dropped it and attempted to use a razor blade to cut the umbilical chord, eventually tearing it apart.

Shortly after birth, the infant passed away. EA stuffed the placenta and the child’s remains in a dresser drawer in her wardrobe after wrapping them in clothes.

‘The Baby Is Starting To Smell’

After EA complained of stomach pain on Monday night, June 30, her guardian, Issis Dala, and family friend Fernanda Acosta Melendez took her to Geisinger Medical Center in Danville. The medical team concluded that EA had given birth and carried the pregnancy to term.

EA later acknowledged that she had concealed the body of the full-term baby at home after first claiming to have miscarried a fetus that was only a few inches in size.

Dala begged her husband, Maradiaga-Orellana, to bring Fernanda home and bring a phone charger. After searching the bedroom, the two discovered the baby’s remains in the drawer, wrapped in clothing and showing a visible facial wound.

The body was brought into the kitchen. At first, Maradiaga-Orellana refused to provide Dala a picture.

Maradiaga-Orellana told investigators that he unplugged the backyard security camera and started using pruning shears to dig a hole in the yard after Fernanda left at approximately 11 p.m. When it started to rain, he paused, but he started up again hours later.

He texted Dala at 4 a.m. on Tuesday, July 1st, saying, “The baby is starting to smell.” Then he emailed her three pictures of the corpse. Dala showed the hospital staff the pictures. They made a police call.

The Grave And The Evidence

Officers saw a recently upturned area of dirt in the backyard when they arrived at the residence at approximately 5:55 a.m. When asked where the child was, Lilian Ondina Flores, EA’s biological mother, pointed to it. She needed a young person in the house to translate because she didn’t speak English.

The baby was later discovered buried where Maradiaga-Orellana had suggested when police had secured the house. He admitted to disconnecting the camera and digging the hole in a mirandized interview. According to him, he and Dala texted each other to agree that the body should be buried.

Search Warrant Filed For Devices, DNA, Messages

Officers requested a search warrant in order to gather:

• The baby s body.
• DNA or biological evidence from the child and parents.
• Blood-stained clothing, towels, or bandages.
• Tools used to move or bury the child.
• Security footage or digital images of the birth, child, or burial.
• Text messages or communication between residents about the pregnancy, birth, or death.
• Any physical or electronic devices that may contain images or videos of the incident.

According to the police, EA is slender and had kept the delivery a secret from the child’s father, a 15-year-old boy who is Dala’s biological son, even after the baby passed away.

Involuntary Manslaughter, Endangering the Welfare of Children, and Reckless Endangerment are among the other charges included in the warrant; however, Maradiaga-Orellana is only presently facing misdemeanor counts pending the outcome of the continuing inquiry.

Thursday, July 3, was set aside for an autopsy. The reason and manner of death are still being investigated, according to the Northumberland County Coroner, who also confirmed the body’s discovery.

Earlier this year, a similar tragedy occurred when a teen from Pennsylvania and her grandmother were charged after a risky home abortion attempt resulted in a newborn being buried in a box.Go here to read that story.