Middlesex County Prosecutor Andrew C. Carey announces that a 14-year-old teenage girl from Highland Park has been charged with an act of juvenile delinquency for an offense which if committed by an adult would constitute murder.
The teenager, whose identity is being withheld because of her age, is being held at the Middlesex County Juvenile Detention Center pending her initial court appearance tomorrow at Middlesex County Family Court.
Officials said the teenager was charged in a juvenile complaint today with murder in the first degree.
Based on a preliminary investigation by the Highland Park Police Department and the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office, it has been determined that the 14-year-old mother caused the death of her newborn baby boy.
The police were alerted that a newborn was discovered outside of a residence on Lincoln Avenue in the borough. The infant was rushed to Robert Wood University Hospital in New Brunswick where the baby was pronounced dead.
An autopsy by the Middlesex County Medical Examiner will be scheduled.
The investigation is active and continuing.
Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sean McGraw of the Highland Park Police Department at (732) 572-3800, or Detective Erik Larsen of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office at (732) 745-3263.