Live Infant Found in Dryer, Mother Charged

Angela Janecka. Police photo.

Prosecutors in Henrico, Va., say a pregnant woman claimed her child had died in-utero, but that a “mystery doctor” advised her to carry the fetus to full term. Angela Marie Janecka, 39, allegedly had her husband, James Janecka, believe this story, and called him at work on August 25 to tell him she’d delivered a stillborn child. James Janecka rushed home, having been told by his wife that a doctor came to assist with the delivery and took the dead infant away. The child, however, was a perfectly alive, 8-pound baby girl, who allegedly spent the first hours of her life inside a laundry drier, wrapped in a plastic bag and a pillow case. When James Janecka got home, he heard the baby make noise, and unwrapped her. The couple, who already have an 8-year-old son, then called their pediatrician, who called 911.

Angela Janecka is charged with neglect and attempted murder, and is being held without bail pending a psychiatric evaluation. The infant is with Child Protective Services.

In a reverse incident last month, a woman who’d convinced friends and family she was pregnant was accused of attempting to steal a newborn infant from the hospital.

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