Yessenia Cardenas Corpus Christi, Texas mother arrested trying to give her 12 day old baby away while walking along street while on substances.
‘Can you please take her?’ A Texas woman was charged with child abandonment for allegedly trying to give her 12-day-old baby daughter to a stranger on Sunday.
Yessenia Cardenas, 25, was walking down a street in Corpus Christi while reportedly trying to hand her baby to several people. One of those people was Claudia Canales, who told KOAA that she was driving down the street circa 10.30 pm Sunday evening when she turned her car around to ask Cardenas if the woman needed any help.
Cardenas reportedly said she did need help and gave Canales her baby. Canales said the mother told her she had smoked marijuana and was unsure when her baby last ate, according to KOAA.
‘I can’t believe someone would just give their baby up to a complete stranger without knowing anything about that person — not knowing if they’re ever going to see their baby again,’ Canales told KIII. ‘It was so — it’s sad all around.’
‘She looked kind of lost and confused,’ Canales added. ‘I don’t know. She just didn’t look right to me. So I just turned back around and pulled over to the side of the road and asked if she needed help. She said yes. That she had ran away from a house from some lady. ‘
Baby Moses Law
Cardenas allegedly asked Canales to take her 12-day-old baby. However, Canales instead called police — who questioned both women upon arriving at the scene, KRIS reported.
According to KIII, medics were called to the scene as Cardenas appeared as if she was under the influence of an unknown substance. Afterward, she was arrested and charged with abandoning or endangering a child.
Corpus Christi police said Child Protective Services has the newborn.
Authorities say the mother might have avoided arrest had she given up her baby lawfully through the Texas Child Safe Haven Act — better known as the Baby Moses Law.
The statute requires that the child to be 60 days old or younger and free from abuse or neglect.
There are three locations a parent can lawfully leave a child— any fire station, hospital, or emergency medical services station.
Not immediately clear was the whereabouts of the father.
