Crime & Safety

Wildwood Woman Gets Probation For Abandoning Newborn In Ellisville

Kaitlin T. Norton, 20, of Wildwood, pleaded guilty in March to abandoning her newborn baby in a yard in Ellisville in February.

A Wildwood woman was given five years probation after pleading guilty to endangering a child.

Kaitlin T. Norton, 20, of Wildwood, pleaded guilty in March to abandoning her newborn baby in a yard in Ellisville in February. The child survived and later was adopted by another family.

Judge Michael Burton also sentenced Norton to 500 hours community service, participation in a drug and alcohol evaluation program and a psychological evaluation.

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Burton sentenced Norton to a five-year prison sentence, then suspended the sentence.

Norton had just given birth to the baby in her boyfriend's basement, authorities said. She had hidden her pregnancy from everyone, even her boyfriend, her attorney said.

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Norton’s attorney, James Towey, asked Burton for leniency, noting that Norton is attending school and working. He also said Norton’s son had been successfully adopted by another family.

Another of Norton’s attorneys, Andrew Leonard, said the baby was unharmed. “He was in good hands in relatively quickly.”

He asked that Burton avoid a conviction and suspend execution of the sentence, allowing her record to be clean after successfully completing probation. Although Burton put Norton on probation, the charge will remain on her record.

“We avoided a tragedy here, and we’d like to continue that theme,” Towey said. “Convicting this girl would be a tragedy.”

Assistant Prosecutor Sheila Worley recommended a conviction and one year served in county jail. She noted the child was born with marijuana in his system.

“There has to be retribution,” Worley said. “She put a newborn child, part of herself, and left it under a tree in a cove, wrapped in wet towels in February, and then just walks away,” Worley said. “There has to be retribution.”

Towey disagreed, and said Norton is “trying t

“She’s trying to right the ship and get her life back on course,” Towey said. Putting her on probation would be appropriate because she would have to follow the rules. She can do that because she’s been doing it her whole life, but for that one dark day in February.”

Norton read a statement, saying, “I feel awful and I think about that day every day.”

Norton said she regrets how she hurt her family and how her son was welcomed into the world.

In pronouncing her sentence, Burton said the fact that marijuana was found in the child’s system entered into his decision.

“You clearly knew at the time you were using it that you were pregnant,” Burton said.

He said there had to be a conviction for the decisions she made so it would be on her record.

“At the same time, I don’t believe you acted with evil intent,” Burton said. “I don’t think there was intent to do something harmful to this child.”

After the hearing, Leonard called Burton’s decision wise.

“This was a 19-year-old girl who was afraid to tell anybody. Her boyfriend was away at college,” Leonard said. “She was out of control, and her denial and fear led her to a terrible decision. If she’d told one friend, this might have turned out differently.”


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