SUMTER, S.C. — A Sumter mother and father have been taken into custody on charges related to the death of their newborn child.
Sumter Police said that officers were initially called out to an apartment on Moorehead Place on July 31 after a woman claimed she had delivered a baby a few months prematurely roughly two days prior. The mother claimed the child was unresponsive at birth.
Police said the father was not home at the time of the birth and returned upon being notified by the child's mother.
However, autopsy results released on Thursday showed the newborn was actually full-term at birth and according to police "remained alive for some time without receiving aid."
Police said that neither parent sought medical attention or notified first responders when the child was born.
As a result, the mother, 21-year-old Melissa Nicole Bautch was charged with homicide by child neglect, and the father, 21-year-old Brandon Sean Hostetler was charged with unlawful neglect.
Both were arrested and jailed on Thursday night as the investigation into the child's death continues.