Woman Allegedly Stabs Baby to Death with Metal Letter Opener While Giving Birth: Police

Speaking at a press conference, Easley Police Chief Brandon Liner said that his officers responded to the call at around 8:20 p.m. “They get on scene and realize very quickly this is something much more,” he said, as detailed by Fox affiliate WHNS.

According to Liner, when the officers arrived on the scene, they found the newborn baby boy suffering from serious injuries. He was declared dead at the scene.

While an official cause and manner of death has not yet been released, per the news outlet, Liner alleged that it was his mother, An T. Ngo, 31, who had killed him. He told the media that as the child was being born, per NBC affiliate WYFF, she “repeatedly stabbed him with a long metal letter opener.”

After his birth, per the arrest affidavit reviewed by People, Ngo allegedly cut the umbilical cord and then proceeded to continue stabbing the newborn. She then purportedly put the baby’s body in a plastic bag and put that bag in a different room, per the document.

CBS affiliate WSPA reports that Ngo allegedly confirmed the actions attributed to her in the affidavit, as police were reading her her rights.

“It was very apparent that Ms. Ngo is the one who tragically murdered this child and it is at that time we went ahead and applied for a warrant for a homicide by child abuse,” Liner told the media.

The document alleged that Ngo showed “an extreme indifference to life by conducting this act of violence and then not seeking medical attention for the newborn,” per WYFF.

“I will be honest, I’ve been doing this for two and a half decades, and I have never seen anything this gruesome,” Liner said in the press conference. “I’ve never seen anything this bad.”

Calling the case “very fresh” and hard on his investigators, Liner declined to take any questions on the ongoing investigation, but promised, “We will speak for this baby. We will make sure that this baby will receive justice. It didn’t have a chance at life. Not long.”

“We are fully committed to uncovering the truth of this incident, holding the responsible accountable and ensuring justice is found for this child,” he added.

Ngo was taken to the hospital for medical treatment and released Tuesday afternoon, when she was taken into custody and brought before a judge for her arraignment, per WHNS, at the Easley Municipal Court.

There she was advised that a magistrate judge cannot set her bond because of the seriousness of a charge of homicide by child abuse, and its possible life sentence, as noted by WSPA. Ngo will have to appear before a circuit court judge for that.

Her next court appearance is set for May 15.