Iowa woman allegedly gave birth in bathroom at church day care center, left premature newborn in trash
09/17/2026 4:28 pm PDT
PERRY, Iowa (TCN) -- A 20-year-old woman has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the discovery of a newborn baby in a trash can outside a church day care center.
KCCI reports that on Sept. 15, emergency services were dispatched to Acorn & Oaks Child Care, located on the campus of a Lutheran church, after receiving a report that a woman, Stephanie Ubaldo, was experiencing vaginal bleeding. Ubaldo was transported to the hospital for treatment.
About an hour and a half later, police were called with a report that a premature baby was in a trash can at the same day care center. KCCI reports that responding officers located the baby girl, who was inside a plastic bag and had injuries to the face. Ubaldo is allegedly the mother of the deceased infant. According to court records obtained by WHO-DT, the newborn girl was approximately 32 to 36 weeks’ gestation and had injuries all over her body.
WHO-DT reports the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by KCCI, Ubaldo allegedly told police no one knew she was pregnant when she gave birth in a bathroom at work. She also allegedly said she intentionally caused injuries to the child’s face to stop the crying. She claimed she intended to return to work at the day care center after giving birth but was bleeding too much to do so.
On Sept. 17, the Perry Police Department announced Ubaldo had been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the baby’s death. She is behind bars at the Dallas County Jail.
The investigation is ongoing.
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