The mother of a newborn baby boy that was left in a stormwater drain in Sydney’s west for five days has been refused bail in court today.
The 30-year-old woman’s case was heard in Blacktown Local Court after she was charged with attempted murder overnight.
She did not appear in court and there was no application for bail.
Cyclists riding along a bike track beside the M7 at Quakers Hill heard a baby crying from underneath a drain on Sunday about 7.30am.
The group worked together to lift the top off the drain – which is about 2.5 metres deep – and saw the baby boy lying at the bottom.
Emergency services were alerted and police officers from Quakers Hill removed the boy from the drain.
The baby, believed to be seven days old, was taken to the Children’s Hospital at Westmead where he remains in a serious but stable condition.
Police conducted extensive inquiries, including hospital record checks and doorknocks in the area to find the child’s mother.
The Quaker’s Hill woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, later went to Blacktown Police Station where she was charged. She will undergo a medically assessment while in custody.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, court papers show that the woman admitted to police that she put her baby down the drain knowing that he would die.
Police allege the baby, believed to have been born on Monday, was placed into the drain on Tuesday.
The boy, who endured some of the hottest days this year, was malnourished and dehydrated.
Dr Karyn Purvis, the director of Texas Christian University’s Institute of Child Development, spoke to The Weekly last year about the impact of neglect on a child. She said even if a child can’t remember the harm or neglect they’ve experienced, research shows they can still have a lingering sense of hunger, loneliness or danger.
She said “teaching them to trust and recognise how precious they are” was a challenge, but with compassion and commitment the child can heal.
Hopefully the boy will receive the care and love he needs and deserves.
