An Allentown woman is accused of intentionally killing her newborn son and abusing the corpse.

Ashley Nicole Caraballo, 30, of the 200 block of Fairview Street, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of homicide, concealing the death of a child and abuse of a corpse, stemming from the October 2017 incident in North Whitehall Township.

Caraballo surrendered Wednesday morning and is being held in Lehigh County Jail without bail. A message left for her attorney, Glenn Goodge, was not immediately returned.

Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced the charges at a news conference.

He said nothing has shown that the father was involved in the baby boy’s death, and investigators don’t believe he was aware Caraballo was pregnant. The father is not charged in the case, Martin said.

Prosecutors said on Oct. 20, 2017, Caraballo went to a hospital in Allentown with heavy vaginal bleeding. At the time, Caraballo, her partner and their five children lived in the 5400 block of Mauser Street in North Whitehall.

During surgery, Dr. Jami Avellini removed a large portion of placental tissue and what appeared to be an attached umbilical cord, Martin said.

The doctor found injuries to Caraballo’s cervix, and the damage was consistent with a baby being “ripped out” when the cervix was not fully dilated, Martin said.

Caraballo allegedly denied being pregnant or giving birth within the last year. Avellini determined the birth occurred between a few hours and up to three days before the surgery.

Pennsylvania State Police began investigating. During a search on Oct. 25, 2017 of the family’s home, police found the baby’s body wrapped in a sheet in a backpack that was found in a five-gallon paint can in the basement storage area.

An autopsy by forensic pathologist Dr. Samuel Land determined the baby boy was full term, but could not determine a cause of death and listed it as undetermined.

Prosecutors had another forensic pathologist, Dr. David Fowler in Baltimore County Maryland, review the reports. He determined the baby was born alive and died from one or a combination of asphyxia, blood loss and/or hypothermia.

A second forensic pathologist, Dr. Isidore Mihalakis, also opined the baby was born alive and the manner of death was homicide.

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“This case presented complex medical issues, which had to be thoroughly examined and investigated, in order to determine if the baby was alive and, therefore, whether Ms. Caraballo could be charged with murder,” Martin said. “This is a very difficult case and one which took a toll on the officers involved.”

Pennsylvania State Police Capt. Richard D’Ambrosio said it was troopers who discovered the baby’s body, and they had some difficulties dealing with the case.

“This was an extremely difficult case for our troopers to work, not only from a professional standpoint but from a personal standpoint,” D’Ambrosio said. “This is probably going to be something that’s with the rest of their careers and the rest of their lives. They were able to put their emotions aside that day and get to work."

The office of Children and Youth have been involved with the family, and the five children are in the office’s custody, Martin said.

Martin said he did not know if Caraballo has given birth to any more children since the baby’s death.

“I hope not,” he added.