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Ohio mom given tiny jail sentence after her stillborn daughter was found thrown in the trash
An Ohio court sentenced Anuradha Manukonda to three months in jail after she pleaded guilty to gross abuse of a corpse, following the 2023 discovery of her stillborn daughter in a rubbish truck. The case drew attention to the prolonged investigation and the impact on the two workers who found the baby.
Manukonda, 27, will also serve five years of community control probation. Her lawyer said she panicked after delivering the stillborn child at a family home and did not know she was pregnant because of a reproductive condition. Police said DNA evidence helped identify her, but the cause of the baby’s death could not be established because of injuries from the truck and the delay in finding her.
In short
- Manukonda received three months in jail and five years’ probation.
- Her stillborn daughter was found in a rubbish truck in 2023.
- Police said DNA evidence helped identify her.
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The case for
A short jail term may be proportionate because the child was stillborn, prosecutors could not establish how she died, and Manukonda’s lawyer said she panicked and did not know she was pregnant. The additional five years of community control also imposes ongoing accountability while recognising the circumstances surrounding the birth.
The case against
Even without proof that Manukonda caused her daughter’s death, disposing of the body in a way that exposed rubbish workers to a traumatic discovery caused serious harm and warrants meaningful punishment. A three-month jail term may seem too lenient given the prolonged investigation and the impact on the workers, and could fail to reflect the gravity of the offence.
Explained simply
A stillbirth is when a baby dies before or during birth. In this case, the baby was found in a rubbish truck in Ohio in 2023, and investigators later used DNA evidence to identify her mother, Anuradha Manukonda.
Manukonda’s lawyer said she had not known she was pregnant and panicked after giving birth at a family home. The baby’s cause of death could not be established, in part because she was found after being injured in the truck. The case also affected the two workers who discovered her.