A Brooklyn woman confessed to giving birth to a baby boy, killing the child and then carrying the dead infant in a shopping bag.
Tiona Rodriguez, 21, told prosecutors she had her son at a friend’s house in Queens on Oct. 16, 2013 and immediately smothered the child. Rodriguez’s admission was part of a plea deal to reduce her possible life imprisonment to manslaughter.
The then 17-year-old was arrested by a security at a Victoria Secret after a sales associate suspected her of shoplifting. Upon searching the bag, the guard made the gruesome discovery. According to reports, Rodriguez sent a text after the murder stating she intended to “take this sh*t and dig a hole, put it somewhere, lol, then we go eat IHOP.”
This isn’t Rodriguez’s first infant death. The District Attorney’s office revealed in 2012, Rodriguez gave birth in her bathtub and texted her boyfriend afterwards “It’s dead.” It’s unclear how the child died.
Rodriguez’s lawyers argued she hid her pregnancy from her family and acted out of fear because she already has a 2-year-old child. Rodriguez was sentenced to 16 years in prison.