Days Inn (Google)
March 26, 2019 By Christian Murray
A 36-year-old woman faces up to 15-years in prison after giving birth to a baby in the toilet of a Long Island City hotel and letting her prematurely born infant die.
Lauren Becker, of Long Island, was charged with second degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child. She was arraigned Friday via video conference, since she is in hospital, and ordered to return to court April 5.
Becker, according to the complaint, gave birth to a baby girl at the Days Inn Hotel, located at 31-32 Queens Blvd., on July 18, 2018. Her infant was born six to eight weeks early and was alive at birth. The baby had cocaine and Xanax in her system, according to authorities.
Becker allegedly reached out to a relative at the time of birth and was advised to take her new born to the hospital. She refused and authorities later tracked her down at around 7:30 p.m. by searching the hotel where they found her on the sixth floor.
Authorities found Becker and her infant daughter, whose body was lifeless, blue and wrapped in a towel on top of a bed. Emergency medical technicians transported her baby to hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
“The victim in this case was a defenseless baby, just hours old,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney John Ryan. “Her young life was cut short because the newborn’s mother allegedly refused to seek the medical care the baby needed after being born six to eight weeks early with drugs in her blood.”
