Audible Gasps as Courtroom Hears Detailed Description of How Woman Allegedly Killed Her Baby

The story of how a New York woman allegedly killed her newborn child prompted gasps Monday in a Staten Island courtroom.

A prosecutor told the court that Nausheen Rahman, 28, threw her dead child’s body in a trash bag so fast she did not realize she had had a daughter, the New York Times reported.

Image via Twitter @newyorkcityinfo

Rahman’s parents sat toward the back of the courtroom, covering their faces with their hands as they listened to the details of their daughter’s case.

“The actions of this defendant are so horrendous and so reprehensible that it shocks one’s conscience,” Assistant District Attorney Jane Grinberg said.

Rahman was charged with murder and concealment of a human corpse.

Grinberg claimed that after giving birth Saturday, the defendant had gone to a hospital but lied to doctors about the reason for her visit.

The prosecutor said that when police were called to investigate, they found the bloodied baby with her thumb next to her mouth in a sealed bag in a trash can outside Rahman’s family’s home in Staten Island.

“She told detectives the baby was moving after birth and once she cut the umbilical cord the baby stopped moving,” Grinberg said. “The baby had air in its lungs.”

Julie Bolcer, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, said the cause of death was still under investigation.

Image via Twitter @PakistanDailyN

Grinberg also claimed that the defendant had visited a doctor about her pregnancy but kept it from her parents. Rahman’s lawyer, Michael Robert Rosas, said he doubted the prosecution’s account of the events.

“We’re going to conduct our own investigation and see where it leads,” he said Monday.

The Times reported that neighbors around the Honey Bee Condominiums, where Rahman lives with her parents and two younger brothers, said they had no idea she was pregnant. They said she often wore traditional Indian clothes that consisted of loose, flowy fabric.

“I remember her when she was little,” a neighbor who wished to remain anonymous due to the grisly nature of the case told the Times. “Every time I went to the mailbox she’d be joking with the postal lady. Very sweet girl.”

Another neighbor who also declined to be identified said the family had lived in the home for about two decades and had a vast network of relatives and friends.

Outside the courtroom, Rahman’s parents declined to offer comments to reporters.

Grinberg requested Monday that Rahman be kept at the Rikers Island jail complex while she awaits trial, in part because she has relatives outside the United States.

Judge Raja Rajeswari ordered Rahman held without bail.

(H/T: New York Times)