A McDonalds worker in the United States faces attempted murder charges after she gave birth to a baby girl in the restaurant bathroom - then tried to flush her newborn baby down the toilet, prosecutors say.
Sarah Jane Lockner, 25, was working as a cashier when she complained of stomach pains.
She went to the bathroom multiple times during her shift. A co-worker saw blood on the floor, something Lockner blamed on a "heavy period".
During another visit to the bathroom, Lockner allegedly locked herself into a cubicle. When a concerned second co-worker went to check on her, they looked over the stall and reported seeing a newborn baby face-down in the toilet bowl.
Lockner was allegedly seen trying to push the baby down the toilet, before attempting to flush it away.
Police were called, and officers found a baby girl without a pulse and not breathing in the McDonalds' bathroom.
It was rushed to hospital and placed in an induced coma. The extent of its brain injuries are not known.
"Her boyfriend said he did not know she was pregnant either, and none of her co-workers knew," chief deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti said.
"We can all agree the facts of this case are pretty shocking. An infant, a newborn, is incredibly vulnerable.
"It's shocking to the community a person would behave this way with a helpless newborn."
Lockner is being held in custody on a US$11 million bail on suspicion of charges including attempted murder and inflicting great bodily harm to a child.
If convicted, she faces life imprisonment.
Newshub.
