A Brief History

On June 6, 1997, Melissa Drexler gave birth to her baby in a bathroom stall, threw it in the trash, and went right back to the prom! This Lacey Township High School (New Jersey) student was over 18 years old at the time and so faced charges as an adult. Convicted of manslaughter, she was sentenced to 15 years in jail, of which she served only 37 months.

Digging Deeper

At 5’7” tall and weighing in at only 130 pounds, she still managed to hide her pregnancy from other people. Going into a bathroom stall to deliver the baby, Melissa cut the umbilical cord on a paper towel dispenser, wrapped the baby up in some garbage bags, and put it in the trash. Then it was back to the dance floor!

About an hour later the janitor was sent to the restroom to investigate a complaint of blood on the floor, and discovered the baby. An ambulance was called and the emergency team worked for 2 hours to save the baby, but failed.

Melissa was charged with murder, but pled guilty to manslaughter.

Only six months before this incident another young New Jersey couple, Amy Grossberg and Brian Petersen had tossed their baby into a dumpster in Delaware. Grossberg received only 30 months in jail and Petersen only 24 months.

Incredibly, Melissa never acted upset or remorseful at any point during the prom or during court proceedings. The media dubbed her “Prom Mom” and she was released from prison in November of 2001.

The musical group, Nickelback, put out a song called Throw Yourself Away about the Drexler incident, and the cartoon show, Family Guy, featured a musical number in episode Airport ‘07 called Prom Night Dumpster Baby about the 2 incidents.

Question for students (and subscribers): How sick and uncaring can people be? These incidents indicate pretty darn sick. Do you have any suggestions as to how to prevent this type of activity? If so, please tell us in the comments section below this article.

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Historical Evidence

For more information, please see…

Most, Doug. Always In Our Hearts: The Story Of Amy Grossberg, Brian Peterson, The Pregnancy They Hid And The Baby They Killed. St. Martin’s True Crime, 2000.