Mother of ‘Baby India’, left to die in a plastic bag in Georgia woods four years ago, is finally arrested
‘There is no evidence, at this point, that the father was aware of either the pregnancy or the abandonment of (the) baby’
The mother of a newborn child found abandoned in a wooded area wrapped in a plastic bag in Georgia has been arrested after four years.
Karima Jiwani, 40, was arrested on Thursday after authorities used DNA to identify the biological parents of the child named "Baby India", Forsyth County sheriff Ron Freeman said.
She has been charged with criminal intent to commit murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault, and reckless abandonment.
In 2019, a family in Cummuning, about 40 miles north of Atlanta, called 911 after hearing cries coming from the woods.
Law enforcement officers responding to the call found an hours-old girlchild tied in a yellow plastic bag, with her umbilical cord still attached.
Body camera footage of the discovery was made public as officials appealed to the members of the public for help locating the girl's parents. The footage showed officers removing the baby from the plastic bag and wrapping her in a blanket.
Baby India’s birth likely took place inside a vehicle, Sheriff Freeman said on Friday, adding that she was found hours before a severe thunderstorm struck Forsyth County.
The child's father was identified nearly 10 months ago using advanced DNA investigative practices and familial DNA. However, there was no indication that he was involved in her abandonment, the sheriff said.
“There is no evidence, at this point, that the father was aware of either the pregnancy or the abandonment of (the) baby,” he added.
Ms Jiwani drove for a "significant period of time" after the birth with the infant in a car "until she decided to tie the baby in a plastic bag and throw it into the woods to die", police said.
Evidence suggested that the mother was alone when the child was abandoned, Sheriff Freeman said. Ms Jiwani cooperated with detectives throughout the investigation, according to the sheriff’s office.
The authorities said they could not discuss motives or details of what Ms Jiwani told investigators at the time because the case is pending prosecution.
"This child was tied up in a plastic bag and thrown into the woods like a bag of trash. I can't understand that," Mr Freeman said.
"It literally is one of the saddest things I have ever seen. ...little can explain how this happened, and no motive can justify that decision.
"Jiwani made no effort to leave this child, not only under ‘Safe (Haven) Law,’ but in any place this child could be found."
Georgia's "Safe Haven" law provides mothers criminal immunity if they leave their baby with medical facility volunteers or staff, or at a fire or police station, if the child is no more than 30 days old.
The sheriff's office did not provide details of Baby India's current state but said she was "thriving" in the care of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services.