Justin L. Mack

justin.mack@Indystar.com

UPDATE: Fayzah Al-Khatib will spend a year on probation after pleading guilty to two criminal charges.

According to online court documents, Al-Khatib pleaded guilty in June to obstruction of justice and failure to report a dead body. In addition to probation, her sentence requires that she attend counseling and undergo treatment for substance abuse.

Original story: An Indianapolis woman accused of delivering a stillborn baby girl at home and hiding the evidence from her loved ones and the authorities is now facing criminal charges.

Fayzah Al-Khatib, 23, has been charged in Marion County with one count of felony obstruction of justice and one count of misdemeanor failure to report a dead body.

According to court documents, her charges stem from an investigation that began Feb. 4.

An Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department detective was informed that a woman contacted Little & Sons Funeral Home and claimed that her sister had given birth to a stillborn baby the previous week, court documents said. The woman said the baby had been in a freezer, and she was looking for a funeral home for burial services.

Investigators went to Little & Sons, and a funeral director made arrangements for the women to bring the baby to the business.

Court documents said three women arrived at the funeral home that night, including Al-Khatib, court documents said. Al-Khatib entered the funeral home carrying a cooler with a frozen baby girl wrapped in a white plastic bag inside.

When speaking to police, one of Al-Khatib's sisters said she was at home when the suspect gave birth to the child, court documents said. Al-Khatib did not tell anyone that she was pregnant, and her sister said she did it for "religious reasons." She added that the family is very strict, and Al-Khatib was not married at the time.

Al-Khatib told investigators that she was six or seven months pregnant when she gave birth, and that she had the child on Jan. 31.

When Al-Khatib gave birth and realized the baby was deceased, she placed the child in a shoebox and hid the placenta, court documents said. Her mother found the child and put the baby in the freezer.

Police also searched Al-Khatib's home and iPhone. The search of the phone led to the discovery of a photo of the child that was taken on Jan. 24, a week earlier than the date of birth she told police.

Al-Khatib's mother told police that she did not know about the pregnancy but found blood in the bathroom on the day the child was born, court documents said. The mother said she found the baby about three days after her daughter gave birth.

In a final interview with police, Al-Khatib said she was too scared to call the police or emergency services for help. She also admitted to taking Vicodin and Soboxone during her pregnancy, but she said that she was not abusing it.

According to online court records, a jury trial for Al-Khatib's case will begin on July 19.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.