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Florida woman smoked crack in labor, hid baby in backyard, police say

CLEARWATER, Fla. (WFLA) – A Florida woman was arrested after she smoked crack during labor, then allegedly hid her newborn in a backyard.

Katrina Kegelman, 24, is facing child neglect charges after she gave birth to a boy on Monday.

She had been using crack cocaine and other substances while she was pregnant told detectives she was unaware she had given birth to a child.

A friend allegedly noticed blood on her pants and asked her where the baby was. The defendant pleaded with her friend not to contact the police, but somebody alerted authorities.

When fire rescue officials came to the scene, Kegelman would not share the baby’s location. She finally pointed toward the backyard after being asked several times.

Both Kegelman and the baby were transported to a nearby hospital where Kegelman confessed to lying about the incident because she was afraid of being arrested for smoking crack. The baby is expected to survive.

Kegelman was arrested on Monday and released on bond early Thursday morning.

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