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A mum suffocated her newborn son in a pub toilet then carried on drinking with her friends, it is claimed.

Amanda Hein, 26, who had kept the pregnancy secret, gave birth in the toilet cubicle before putting her baby in a plastic bag and stuffing him in the cistern, prosecutors say.

The body was found the next day by a cleaner investigating why the loo would not flush.

District Attorney John Morganelli told a US court hearing: “Even having been a prosecutor for 20 years, it is very upsetting. I’ve seen dead people... shot, strangled. But when you’re dealing with a baby, it’s very difficult.”

Hein has been charged with criminal homicide and could face the death penalty if convicted.

Court papers say that on August 18 Hein went to Starters pub near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, with pals to watch WWE wrestling on TV.

It is also said that Hein, of nearby Allentown, went to the loo complaining of back pain, and was gone for 40 minutes.

Prosecutors claim Hein hid the baby in the cistern, then went for a cigarette before returning to her pals.

A friend who drove her home an hour later offered to take her to hospital because she had blood on her clothes, but Hein said she was fine.

Mr Morganelli added that when police tracked Hein down she told them her baby was alive when she put him in the bag.

A postmortem failed to determine if the baby was suffocated by the bag or the cistern.