Alvin Bragg
2023-05-19 22:43:49 UTC
Democrats don't give a shit about life.
bag in Georgia, the child's mother has been arrested and charged with
attempt to commit murder, authorities announced Friday.
The baby girl was found in good condition in a wooded area in Forsyth
County on the night of June 6, authorities said. A local family told "Good
Morning America" at the time they had heard crying and called 911 after
finding the newborn in a plastic bag.
The baby, temporarily named India, was likely born within hours of being
found, authorities said. Her umbilical cord was still attached.
The Forsyth County Sheriff's Office released remarkable body camera
footage of first responders recovering the baby from the scene in the
weeks following the discovery as they attempted to identify her.
The Forsyth County Major Crimes Unit has been "tirelessly working" on the
"Baby India" case ever since, and on Thursday morning, deputies made an
arrest, the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office said in a press release.
"Four years ago, I said in this room, and I told you, we will bring this
person to justice," Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman told reporters
Friday. "Little did I know it was going to take four years."
Freeman said investigators have devoted "thousands of hours" to the case,
and a breakthrough came approximately 10 months ago when they were able to
identify the child's father through "advanced DNA investigative practice."
There is currently no evidence to suggest that the child's father knew of
the pregnancy or abandonment, the sheriff said.
DNA evidence further confirmed 40-year-old Karima Jiwani, of southeast
Forsyth County, to be the child's biological mother, according to Freeman.
Jiwani faces charges including criminal attempt to commit murder, cruelty
to children in the first degree, aggravated assault and reckless
abandonment, Freeman said. She is scheduled to make her first court
appearance on Saturday remotely from the Forsyth County Jail, where she is
being held without bond, officials said.
Based on interviews with family and medical professionals, Jiwani
reportedly had a "history of hidden and concealed pregnancies and surprise
births," and while pregnant with India "went to extremes to conceal this
pregnancy," Freeman said. Investigators have not found any prior criminal
acts regarding Jiwani, he said.
India was likely born in a car, and Jiwani allegedly drove the newborn for
a "significant period of time" before discarding her, Freeman said. There
was no attempt to leave the newborn with a "safe harbor" such as a fire
station or hospital, which is legal within 30 days of the birth, he noted.
"This child was tied up in a plastic bag and thrown into the woods like a
bag of trash. I can't understand that," Freeman said. "It literally is one
of the saddest things I have ever seen."
The sheriff wouldn't discuss motive, due to the ongoing investigation. The
case will be brought to a grand jury, he said.
Freeman said he would not discuss India, besides to say she's "happy and
healthy."
"Baby India is now prospering," he said.
People were "waiting in line" to adopt India following her miraculous
recovery, Tom Rawlings, then-director of Georgia's Division of Family and
Children Service, told "Good Morning America" at the time.
"In child protective services we deal with a lot of tragedy, of course,
but it's great to have a miracle," Rawlings said of baby India's survival.
"And this truly is a miracle."
Rawlings was not able to disclose too much about where the baby was due to
confidentiality reasons.
The first deputy to the scene recounted finding the baby in an interview
with "Good Morning America."
"I wanted to give her comfort," Forsyth Sheriff's Deputy Terry Roper said
in the weeks after the discovery. "A little bit later I realized it was
the first time she had felt love, and I felt honored to be able to give
her that."
Roper was present for Thursday's arrest, Freeman said.
There were additional children in Jiwani's home at the time of her arrest,
ranging from "school age to near adult," Freeman said. The sheriff's
office has requested that the state's Division of Family and Children
Services evaluate the situation and put a safety plan in place, he said.
The night India was found, two sisters heard the baby's cries and went to
investigate with their parents, after initially thinking it might have
been a cat.
"It sounded like a baby, but you never would think that it's a baby,"
Kayla Ragatz told "Good Morning America" at the time.
When they found the baby in the plastic bag, her sister, Kyler Ragatz,
said she "started bawling" due to the emotional discovery.
"I was angry, scared, sad," she added.
Freeman thanked the family's efforts in finding the baby during Friday's
press briefing.
"I call it divine intervention -- and I truly believe that still today,"
he said. "If you look at everything that had to happen for this little
girl to survive."
<https://abcnews.go.com/US/arrest-made-4-years-after-abandoned-newborn-
dubbed/story?id=99459522>