Police in Allentown, Pennsylvania, investigated the homicide of a newborn baby back in 2019, the details of which are almost too gruesome to stomach. This story actually begins in October 2017, when the body of a baby boy was found stuffed inside a paint can. Just hours earlier, his mother, 30-year-old Ashley Caraballo, was rushed to the hospital for heavy vaginal bleeding. It wasn't until over a year later, however, that Caraballo was officially charged with homicide, concealing the death of a child, and abuse of a corpse.
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When Caraballo was rushed to the hospital on October 20, 2017, doctors encountered 'complex' injuries that required careful surgery.
They were even more perplexing as Caraballo denied ever being pregnant or that she'd given birth. It wasn't long, however, before surgeons discovered that was a lie.
Doctors removed a portion of placental tissue and a part of an umbilical cord that remained uncut, according to CBS News. Caraballo also had injuries to her cervix that initially confused them, but ultimately, doctors came to a disturbing realization: The baby was most likely “ripped out" because she had not fully dilated.
Their findings launched an investigation that led police back to Caraballo's home on October 25, where they made a shocking discovery.
In the basement of the home, authorities came across a five-gallon paint can with a loose lid. After peering inside, they found a black garbage bag, which contained a small children's backpack. When they opened it, the body of Caraballo's newborn baby boy was found, wrapped in a bedsheet.
Even more upsetting? Police revealed later that the baby was born alive and was full term when he came into the world. The cause of death was found to be asphyxia, blood loss, and/or hypothermia.
Caraballo reportedly lived in the home with her partner, Paul Wilson, and five other children at the time of the alleged murder.
In fact, according to WFMZ, police do not believe Wilson knew anything about Caraballo's pregnancy or the murder she was charged with. It was likely for this reason that she refused to come clean with investigators at the hospital, despite being questioned multiple times by medical staff and authorities.
Caraballo remained insistent that she was never pregnant, and even claimed that she had an IUD implanted as birth control. But a review of Caraballo's medical records showed no signs the procedure had ever taken place.
When a doctor told the mother about the umbilical cord removed from inside her, Caraballo said it must have been from a previous birth — something medical staff said was a "medical impossibility."
The mother was later found guilty.
Captain Richard D'Ambrosio, a commanding officer of the Pennsylvania State Police in Bethlehem, did not mince words when he spoke to the press about the gruesome nature of the crime as well as the emotional toll it took on investigators, many of whom are parents themselves.
"This was an extremely difficult case for our troopers to work, not only from a professional standpoint but also from a personal standpoint," D'Ambrosio shared, WFMZ reported. "They were able to put their emotions aside that day and get to work and do what was necessary to get to where we are today and announce an arrest in this case."
In August 2021, Caraballo was found guilty and sentenced to five to 10 years in prison with the possibility of parole in five years, per WFMZ.
