Overview
- Police arrested 30-year-old Assa Diawara in Jamaica, Queens, in connection with the Oct. 20 abandonment of a newborn at 34th Street–Penn Station.
- Diawara was charged with abandonment of a child and endangering the welfare of a child, and she was expected in court Wednesday.
- Detectives traced surveillance across agencies to a car service, canvassed the drop-off area, identified Diawara through a neighbor, and obtained an admission, officials said.
- The baby girl was discovered around 9:30 a.m. on stairs to the southbound 1/2/3 platforms, was conscious when found, and remains in stable condition at Bellevue; investigators noted the umbilical cord was still attached and found no evidence of a station birth.
- New York’s Abandoned Infant Protection Act allows legal, anonymous surrender of newborns at hospitals or staffed police or fire stations when done safely, and the NYPD says the investigation is ongoing.