UPDATE: Brewster was arraigned late Wednesday morning. Muskegon County District Judge Harold F. Closz III denied bond.

MUSKEGON, MI – An arrest warrant has been issued charging Jessica Lynn Brewster, 17, with open murder in the death of her newborn daughter.

Brewster allegedly told Muskegon police detectives she smothered the baby by holding a towel over her face to keep her quiet after giving birth early Oct. 15 in a bathroom of her mother's Muskegon home.

She said she acted out of fear of her mother finding out she was pregnant, Detective Kory Luker said in a sworn probable-cause statement to a Muskegon County District Court magistrate Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Brewster was in the bathroom when she heard her mother's footsteps approaching around 4 a.m. Oct. 15, she allegedly told detectives. She put a towel over the baby's face, and the infant died, Luker said in his sworn statement.

Brewster later put the baby's body in a plastic bag, brought it to Trinity Manor, the senior apartment complex on Shonat Street where her grandmother lives, and buried it in a shallow grave, Luker said.

Magistrate Michael Van Epps set interim bond at $250,000 cash or surety. Arraignment was expected later Wednesday, Nov. 12.

Asked by Van Epps about recommended bond, Luker said Brewster is a straight "A" student with no prior criminal or juvenile-offense history. "I don't think she's necessarily a danger," Luker said.

Detective Clay Orrison, also under oath, said to Van Epps, "I don't know that returning to the home would be the best given this fear level that exists with her."

Monday afternoon, Nov. 10, a janitor at Trinity Manor found the infant's half-buried body and called 911.

Luker said police did a canvass of the area and learned that one of the residents' granddaughters might be pregnant. He said he was "able to touch base with Jessica Brewster," who then made her alleged confession.

John S. Hausman covers courts, prisons, the environment and local government for MLive Muskegon Chronicle. Email him at jhausman@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter.