A heartbreaking and shocking incident unfolded in Marietta, Georgia, when a 17-year-old girl was charged with murder after the tragic death of her newborn baby. Leticia Rodriguez, a teen mom, is accused of killing her baby shortly after giving birth at home and then attempting to bury the body in her backyard.
According to the Marietta Police Department, officers found Rodriguez digging a hole in her yard on Sunday, and nearby, the baby boy was already deceased. At a press conference on Monday, police spokesperson Chuck McPhilamy explained the grim discovery. “We saw the mother of the deceased infant digging a hole in the backyard,” he said, clarifying that the baby had not yet been buried.
Investigators revealed that Rodriguez had given birth earlier that day at home, all alone. Hours later, her uncle discovered her outside, digging the hole, and immediately called the police.
The young mother reportedly told officers that she used a sharp knife to cut the umbilical cord from around the baby’s neck. In the process, she caused a severe injury to the newborn. Police documents reveal even more disturbing details—Rodriguez allegedly used a pocket knife to remove the baby’s heart. She then wrapped the body in a blanket, placed it in a grocery bag, and hid it for several hours before starting to dig.
When officers arrived, Rodriguez was in poor health due to complications from childbirth. She was rushed to Wellstar Kennestone Hospital for urgent medical care.
Rodriguez now faces a long list of charges, including felony murder, aggravated assault with a weapon, concealing a death, abuse of a dead body, and abandonment of a dead body. After being discharged from the hospital, she was taken to the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, where she remains held without bond.
This incident has left the local community in shock. Neighbors described the family, who moved to the area from Guatemala about two years ago, as quiet and unassuming. Theresa Neill, a resident who has lived in the neighborhood for 30 years, said, “Nothing like this has ever happened around here. It’s just so sad—my heart goes out to anyone who loses a child.”
Police noted that Rodriguez’s family has been cooperative throughout the investigation. “Our hearts go out to them,” McPhilamy said. “We can’t imagine the trauma they’re going through.”
The case has raised many questions about the struggles Rodriguez might have been facing, and authorities are continuing to investigate this deeply tragic situation.
This sounds like a incest or rape situation that was never addressed. Mental illness is real
That is so,so,sick how could someone that is there on flash and blood do something like that I don’t understand how on God’s freen earth could do that people that come from different countries do this when they get over here why? To get to go back home free they should give her the electric chair.
She is just EVIL!!!
That child is in heaven. The mother must pay the consequence..