Allentown mom to stand trial in death of infant found in paint bucket

Police tape at crime scene

The mother of a newborn whose body was found in a paint bucket in the basement of her Pennsylvania home will stand trial in baby's death.

A judge issued the ruling Wednesday during a preliminary hearing for 30-year-old Ashley Caraballo. The North Whitehall woman is charged with homicide, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse.

Lehigh County prosecutors have said Caraballo was taken to a hospital in October 2017, where doctors found evidence that she had recently given birth, although she denied having done so.

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Police found a deceased male baby wrapped in a sheet inside a backpack within a 5-gallon paint bucket in the basement. Two forensic pathologists concluded that the baby died after being born alive.

Caraballo's attorney did not present a defense during closing arguments of the hearing and declined comment afterward.