Louisiana Woman to Be Booked on Murder Charges after Baby Found Dead in Porta-Potty

(KPEL News) - An unbelievable tragedy unfolded in Gretna as WDSU reports a woman gave birth to a baby in a porta-potty, and now police say the woman faces a murder charge.

According to police officials, they were alerted that a woman had given birth at a Waffle House. When they followed up on the call, they said they found a deceased baby in a Porta-Potty.

The information given was that a woman was having a baby at a Waffle House at 52 Westbank Expressway. Officials say the child was born alive, but then abandoned in the porta-potty.

Police responded to the scene to find a child dead inside the portable toilet.

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Officials say Lekesha Lamelle had given birth, but could not say when. The call to law enforcement came in around 3:20 a.m. Thursday morning, and the grim discovery was made shortly after.

The woman is facing a charge of second-degree murder, according to WWL. Now, according to the report, the woman told police she did not know the condition of the baby.

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As they were investigating, they were told that they should go from the Waffle House to the Westside Shopping Center, and that is where the Porta-Potty and the dead baby were. The newborn child was dead in the tank.

Officials who conducted the autopsy of the baby report that the child was alive at birth. Lamelle told Gretna officials she did not know the condition of the baby. Lamelle was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and once she is discharged from the hospital, she will be arrested on the second-degree murder charge.