A Hudson Valley mother was indicted for murder after the "barbaric" death of her newborn baby.

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Orange County District Attorney David Hoovler announced on Tuesday. Nicole H. Layman, 22, of Port Jervis was arraigned in Orange County Court on an indictment charging her with crimes including murder, in connection with the death of a newborn infant found in a vacant lot in Port Jervis.

"Consigning an infant to die of exposure is unnecessary, illegal, and barbaric," Hoovler said. "Help is available within Orange County for those who believe they are unable to care for their children. It is hard to comprehend what could drive any mother to kill her own baby by abandoning her in freezing cold conditions in a vacant lot.”

On Nov. 12, 2019, around 10:30 p.m., Port Jervis City police officers responded to a vacant lot located on Orange Street at the intersection with Hornbeck Avenue for a report of a dead infant lying on the ground inside the vacant lot.

Officers responded to the scene and found the dead baby. The baby appeared to have been born recently because the umbilical cord was still attached, police say.

A subsequent investigation revealed the baby girl was born that night and died from exposure to the elements when left in freezing cold conditions in the vacant lot, official say.

It's alleged the child was born alive and that Layman abandoned the baby, in freezing cold temperatures in the vacant lot, where the baby died of exposure.

An investigation was conducted by the City of Port Jervis Police Department, who were aided by the New York State Police, the Orange County Medical Examiner’s Office and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. The investigation included executing a search warrant at Layman’s home, conducting an autopsy on the deceased infant and obtaining laboratory analysis of tissue samples obtained during the autopsy.

The indictment also charges Layman with intentionally killing the child and abandoning her and tampering with physical evidence for allegedly concealing the body of the infant near a rock at the end of Hornbeck Avenue in Port Jervis.

Layman faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison if convicted of murder.

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