Mother admits to throwing newborn into dumpster, tells prosecution why she did it

33-year-old G.M., a woman from Belgrade's Zarkovo neighborhood, admitted today during questioning at the High Public Prosecutor's Office that she on Monday left her newborn baby in a dumpster, located next to her apartment, after which the prosecution suggested to the court to put her in custody.

She presented to the prosecution the reasons for her actions, while the upcoming expert probe will show to what degree and if at all she was aware of her actions.

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Prosecution spokeswoman Irena Bjelos specified for Tanjug that the prosecution suggested to put G.M. in custody so as not to interfere with witnesses, and because the case has disturbed the public.

The motion is to be decided on by the end of the day by the judge in the preliminary proceedings before the High Court in Belgrade.

G.M. is charged with the criminal offense of aggravated attempted murder of a child (Article 114, paragraph 9), and could be sentenced from 10 to 40 years in prison if found guilty - but according to legal regulations, for an offense that remains defined as "attempted," as in this case, the court may impose a more lenient sentence.

During the investigation that will follow, witnesses will be interviewed, and a neuropsychiatric expert evaluation conducted, in order to determine when exactly the child was exactly born and whether the mother was suffering from postpartum depression.

The dumpster where the baby was found; Novosti.rs/K. Mihajlovic

It is suspected that G.M. gave birth to the child in an apartment without medical assistance, and then placed it in a plastic bag and threw it into a dumpster near the apartment in Zarkovo.

According to media reports, the baby was found on Monday in the dumpster by pensioner Slobodan Cvetkovic who happened to be walking his dog by.

The baby was then placed in the children's clinic in Tirsova Street.

(Telegraf.rs/Tanjug)