What to Know
- Judge ordered an 18-year-old New Jersey woman, Jada McClain, accused of killing her newborn son to remain in jail until trial
- Prosecutors say McClain hid her pregnancy from her parents and delivered the baby in her bathroom March 29; he cried when he was born
- McClain allegedly then pressed on his chest until he died and brought the body to her boyfriend, who is accused of throwing him in the trash
An 18-year-old New Jersey woman accused of killing her newborn son will remain jailed.
Jada McClain's lawyer sought to have her released Wednesday pending her murder trial, saying she needs her family's emotional support as well as medical and psychological treatment.
But Monmouth County prosecutors said the Neptune Township resident should stay jailed, noting the charges she faces.
The judge eventually decided the defense had not overcome a presumption that murder defendants be held without bail until trial. But he called it "a very, very difficult decision for this court on so many levels."
McClain allegedly hid her pregnancy from her parents and gave birth in the bathroom of her home on March 29, according to an affidavit revealed Saturday. The baby was born alive and cried; she put him on her bed, placed her hands on his chest and pushed down until he died, the report said.
Prosecutors allege McClain put the baby's body in a car and then picked up her boyfriend, 19-year-old Quaimere Mohammed. Mohammed allegedly tossed the baby's body in a trash bin outside an Asbury Park apartment complex. Both McClain and Mohammed face charges of desecrating human remains, but the mother is the only one of the two to be accused of second-degree murder.
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She and her boyfriend later drove to an apartment complex where he allegedly put the remains in a dumpster.
The remains of the baby have yet to be found.
