Baby dies after student gives birth in University of Tampa dorm bathroom, records show

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A University of Tampa student told Tampa police her baby died shortly after she gave birth in her dorm bathroom, according to court records obtained by 8 On Your Side.

A Hillsborough County judge signed off on a search warrant involving the 19-year-old student, who will not be named in this story because she hasn’t been charged with a crime.

Police searched her McKay Hall dorm and its bathroom on Monday, two days after paramedics responded to a call about a woman possibly having a miscarriage. Students said they called campus security because they believed they heard a baby crying in a first-floor dorm room.

Paramedics left after the woman told them the blood in her shared bathroom was from her menstrual period. Police were dispatched back to McKay Hall the next day after students founda suspicious item, which turned out to be “a deceased fetus in a (trash) bag.”

“University of Tampa security officer … looked inside the bag and observed the torso of a baby,” Tampa police wrote in their report. “It was apparent that the baby was deceased and beyond help.”

In an interview with police, the student said she didn’t know she was pregnant, but may have been in denial about it. She reported not experiencing her period for about a year.

She described the events that took place Saturday, saying she began to feel sick and nauseous at around 7 a.m. before she gave birth in the shared bathroom.

The student told detectives the baby girl cried for “approximately five seconds” and stopped after she brought her to her chest. “Several minutes” later, she set the baby down on the towel and checked for a heartbeat. She could not feel anything, according to the affidavit.

After rinsing off the newborn, she told police that she wrapped the baby in a towel, set her on the floor and went to sleep for about an hour. The girl still did not show signs of life.

The affidavit stated that residents spotted their roommate holding something bundled up in a towel.

The Crisis Center of Tampa Bay has resources for expectant mothers, which can be accessed by calling 211 or the National Safe Haven Alliance Hotline at (888) 510-2229. Under Florida law, parents may anonymously surrender a newborn up to seven days after birth at a fire station, EMS station or hospital.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.