Affidavit for arrest indicates the mother of the child is charged with abuse of a corpse.
SAN ANTONIO — The details in an arrest affidavit about what happened in a north east Bexar County fast food bathroom are graphic and disturbing.
First responders who came to check on a woman who had locked herself in a stall for hours found a heartbreaking scene when they were finally able to reach her.
Mallori Patrice Strait, 33, is in the Bexar County Jail under a bond of $100,000. She is charged with abuse of a corpse.
The affidavit for an arrest warrant in the case indicates first responders were called to a Whataburger at the corner of FM 78 and Walzem Road last Thursday.
A manager told deputies that a woman had come into the building around midnight, but that at about 2 a.m., she went into the bathroom and sequestered herself behind a locked door for several hours.
The manager told investigators the woman could be heard making noises inside the stall. They said she was offered help and they gave her water but she wouldn’t leave.
After several hours, the manager called 911 out of concern for the woman.
Deputies arrived and detained the woman and when firefighters arrived, they told them there was “human like material in the restroom.”
The document indicates firefighters found a baby in a toilet, still enveloped in its amniotic sac. They freed the baby and began immediate efforts to revive the little girl.
The woman is quoted as saying: “I’m sorry, I’m not selfish,” to the firefighters.
The affidavit said both the mom and the baby were rushed to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital, where a doctor pronounced the baby deceased as soon as she arrived.
The emergency room doctor told investigators the baby appeared to be about 28 to 30 weeks along and that there were injuries to the girl’s head indicating she had been forced into the drain of the toilet.
The Medical Examiner has yet to rule on the baby’s cause of death and because there has been no ruling, the woman has not been charged with injuring the baby at this time.
The affidavit states there is probable cause to believe Strait knowingly damaged the remains of the baby by putting it in the toilet.
The Eagle’s Flight Advocacy & Outreach nonprofit has a well-established history of providing loving funerals for abandoned and abused babies.
Pam Allen leads the group and she said they have been involved in the case since it was first reported. Allen said they will do everything they can do gain legal custody of the child so that they can provide a proper memorial service.
To prevent tragedies like this, Texas has a Baby Moses or Safe Haven law. Anyone can bring a newborn baby to a designated safe space with no questions asked. The Baby Moses Hotline is 1-877-904-SAVE.
More information about the program can be found here.