Police have arrested an Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, couple on charges related to the death of a newborn thrown in the trash and then buried. Sarah N. Helton reportedly gave birth to the child at the end of 2022 and allegedly neglected the child into early January 2023, which led to the infant's death.
Sarah Helton, 40, and Kevin Helton, 60, were reportedly estranged at the time of their arrest. Law & Crime reported that a man who borrowed a cellphone from the couple reported them to the police after he saw photos and text messages regarding the baby's death. Details of the alleged crime are both disturbing and tragic.
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The baby was apparently born at home.
Court documents obtained by Fox 25 state that Sarah Helton gave birth at home unexpectedly on December 27. Kevin Helton told investigators that Sarah Helton arrived at his home in mid-December, visibly pregnant. He did not believe the child was his but thought it was his estranged wife's boyfriend's. He said Sarah Helton did not seem close to delivery, but later that day she began to complain of severe pain. She went to the bedroom in Kevin Helton's trailer and delivered the baby.
"Kevin said throughout the delivery, he continued to tell Sarah that she could call an ambulance, but that she 'wouldn't let' him," court documents read. "When Kevin was asked about Sarah's condition after the delivery, he stated that she seemed fine and was not bleeding excessively."
The infant was reportedly alive and breathing at birth, but Kevin Helton could not provide information when asked about the placenta and umbilical cord. He told police he was "trying to help," Fox 25 reported.
The man claimed no responsibility for the baby girl he called Abigail. According to court documents, however, he said that the infant appeared to need medical attention. He recalled that within a few days after birth, she was eating and seemed OK.
The couple lent a man a cellphone, which ultimately led to an investigation.
The man allegedly found images and video of a dead infant on the borrowed phone, Law & Crime reported. There also reportedly were damning text messages on the phone. He turned it over to the police immediately.
"Do you want me to tell your daughter what really happened to her sister," one message allegedly read. "I buried her this morning because you left her in the trash." The location of the infant's body is still unknown, but police presume the infant is dead.
Police claim Kevin Helton's trailer was filthy.
After obtaining a search warrant, authorities entered Kevin Helton's trailer but found the conditions so unsanitary that it was hard to stay inside, according to court documents. The home reportedly had large amounts of dog feces in it, including inside the room where Sarah Helton delivered her baby.
When asked where the new mother and infant were, Kevin Helton said she left shortly after having the baby. He told police he found the infant in the trash a few days after Sarah Helton left.
Sarah Helton told police a wild and unbelievable story.
According to Fox 25, court documents show that police found Sarah Helton in a home in Marshall, Oklahoma, shortly after speaking with her estranged husband. She allegedly told police she left her boyfriend in Tulsa and moved in with Kevin Helton shortly before the baby was born. She said she believed there was a warrant for her arrest, so she did not want to go to the hospital.
Sarah Helton claimed Kevin Helton made arrangements with a midwife and adoption agency to help with the infant but could not provide any details. She reportedly told police that she and Kevin Helton went to Guthrie to deliver the baby with a midwife but didn't know where. She also alleged Kevin Helton took the baby to an adoption agency after she was born.
"She stated that Kevin also brought a document showing that it had been taken to an adoption agency in Oklahoma City," documents noted, per Fox 25. "She did not know the name or exact location of the agency but stated that it had 'choices' in the name."
There was neither a record of a practicing midwife in Guthrie nor an adoption agency with information about Sarah or Kevin Helton.
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Sarah Helton was previously charged in a murder case.
Per Law & Crime, Sarah Helton was previously convicted on one count of accessory to murder in Tulsa County, court records show. A court sentenced her to 17 years in prison with credit for two years served. She was released in May 2022, less than five years after her conviction.
Both faces charges of one count of second-degree murder or, in the alternative, one count of neglect, Law & Crime reported.
Sarah Helton was being held on a $250,000 bond, and Kevin Helton was being held on a $200,000 bond. The pair was scheduled for a hearing before Judge Blake A. Gibson on April 24. Details from that hearing are not yet available to the public.
