Mom accused of throwing newborn baby out second-story window charged with homicide

A Pennsylvania woman and the father of her newborn child have been arrested almost four months after police alleged she tossed the newborn baby out a second-story window to its death.

Emily Jane Dickinson, 20, and Joshua Coleman Wooters, 19, are charged with criminal homicide in connection to the baby's March 11 death in McConnellsburg, court documents obtained by USA TODAY show.

McConnellsburg is a a borough in Fulton County, about 125 miles east of Pittsburgh.

In addition to criminal homicide, Dickinson and Wooters were charged with conspiracy to commit homicide; concealing the death of a child; and abuse of corpse, a second-degree misdemeanor, court papers from the 39th Judicial District show.

Wooters is also charged with obstructing law enforcement.

Dickinson and Wooters are due in court before Magisterial District Judge David A. Washabaugh on July 10 for a preliminary hearing, court papers show.

Pennsylvania State Police allege the killing took place right after the baby was born.

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Police found baby dead at intersection

According to the a criminal complaint obtained by USA TODAY, troopers found the baby dead at an intersection along with other items including the placenta, a trash bag and a blood-stained mattress cover.

The 4-pound baby was less than 24 inches long and believed to be at 36 weeks gestation, the Pocono Record, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.

Dickinson, troopers wrote in the complaint, reportedly told law enforcement that she believed her newborn son was deformed and had already died before throwing him out the window. But during interviews with Wooters, he told law enforcement the baby was alive.

Dickinson also told them she may have been hallucinating at the time of the crime.

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Blood in bathroom found during investigation

According to charging documents, after police found the baby dead at the scene, responding officers canvased the neighborhood and spoke with Wooters, who initially denied knowledge of the baby or its death.

Then in April, the complaint continues, a search warrant was issued for his apartment which overlooks the street where the baby was found. During a search, police said they found blood inside a bedroom, on a mattress, in the bathroom and on the bathroom window sill.

According to complaint, Dickinson told police she woke up in labor, alerted Wooters and gave birth on the bed.

Wooters, the complaint continues, told officers he went to the bathroom until the baby was born, and at one point he heard the baby cry.

Dickinson "rocked the baby to quiet him then cut the umbilical cord with a kitchen knife," court papers continue.

Wooters, police wrote in the complaint, said Dickinson then walked by him in the bathroom and threw the baby out the window of his second-story apartment.

After that, Dickinson told police she "went to sleep after giving birth and cleaning up."

Both defendants being held without bond

Court papers show Wooters is represented by Phillip Harper with the public defender's office and Dickinson is represented by Jill Devine.

USA TODAY has reached out to both attorneys.

Both defendents were booked into jail on June 25 and being held with no bond on Monday, a Fulton County Sheriff's Office spokesperson told USA TODAY.

Contributing: Damon C. Williams

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund