A newborn baby was tragically found dead in a hospital bathroom after police say the 31-year-old mother, who has been arrested, claimed she did not realise she was pregnant
The body of a newborn baby was tragically found abandoned in a hospital toilet in southern Gran Canaria, leaving staff and authorities stunned. The National Police have arrested a 31-year-old woman in connection with the incident, which is now under active investigation.
The discovery occurred at the San Roque Meloneras Hospital, located in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, on Sunday morning. A hospital staff member found the lifeless infant in one of the toilets at around 9.20am.
According to reports, the body was wrapped in paper, covered in blood, and left on the premises. The employee immediately notified the hospital’s security team and management, who quickly contacted the National Police.
Officers from the Scientific Police and the Judicial Police of the Maspalomas station were dispatched to the hospital. They cordoned off the area, reviewed security footage, and began gathering evidence to identify the person responsible for leaving the newborn behind.
Thanks to the CCTV analysis, police were able to identify a woman who had entered the bathroom at the time the birth allegedly occurred. She was later located outside the hospital, waiting at a bus shelter near the entrance to the facility. The woman, a 31-year-old Spanish national, was still wearing the same blood-stained clothing she had worn at the time of the alleged birth.
Authorities arrested her immediately. Police sources indicate that the woman may have issues with drug addiction, although this detail is part of the ongoing investigation and has not yet been confirmed.
According to initial reports, the woman told police she did not realise she was pregnant, despite being near full term. She stated that she had visited the hospital on Saturday evening at around 8.30pm, feeling unwell, and gave birth alone in one of the toilets without requesting medical assistance.
She claimed that the baby was born alive and even cried before she wrapped it in paper and left it in the bathroom. She then left the hospital without alerting anyone.
On Sunday morning, the woman reportedly returned to the hospital, allegedly to check whether anyone had found the newborn. It was at this point that hospital staff discovered the baby’s body, and she was arrested on suspicion of abandoning a minor.
Following her detention, the woman was transferred to the Gran Canaria Maternity and Children’s Hospital, where she remains in police custody while recovering from the birth. Authorities have confirmed that she had not been admitted to the hospital prior to giving birth and had not sought medical care at any point.
The investigation into the case remains ongoing. Police are working to determine the exact circumstances of the birth and the cause of the newborn’s death. The body has been sent to the Forensic Anatomical Institute for examination, and investigators are seeking to verify the details of the woman’s statement to establish how events unfolded.
