BY EMILY MIBACH
Daily Post Staff Writer
The San Mateo County District Attorney dropped a child abuse charge against the woman who gave birth in a Redwood City McDonald’s bathroom and allegedly tried to drown the boy because he does not appear to have any permanent injuries, a prosecutor said yesterday (June 1).
The prosecution must show that the child experienced “great bodily harm,” said Chief Deputy District Attorney Karen Guidotti. But Adrian, the now 9-month-old who Sarah Lockner gave birth to in September, is living with his father’s sister and has shown no signs of developmental disabilities, according to the DA’s office.
Lockner, 26, was charged on May 17 with premeditated first-degree murder causing great bodily injury. The Redwood City resident appeared in court yesterday (June 1) and pleaded innocent to the charge, which could bring 10 years to life in prison.
Jury trial set for July 23
Lockner will be back in court on June 26 for a pretrial conference and her jury trial is scheduled to begin July 23, Guidotti said. She remains in jail on $11
million bail.
Lockner, 26, of Redwood City, was working at the McDonald’s at 185 Chestnut St. in Redwood City when she began experiencing stomach cramps and started to feel warm and fatigued, according to court testimony. Lockner had told the investigating police officer that she felt like she needed to use the restroom and that she had very painful menstrual cramps. But after using the restroom, Lockner noticed an umbilical cord and a newborn baby boy face down in the toilet.
Lockner allegedly told police that she had picked the baby up, wiped off his face, and placed him back in the toilet, face up, and denied trying to drown the
boy.
What a sad case. I don’t think the answer is incarceration. She’s already been in jail since her arrest. This was a crime where the mother was mentally incapacitated in some fashion. I’m not a psychiatrist, so I can’t give you specifics. But any mother who would leave their newborn in a toilet is “out of their mind”. I think the right answer here isn’t punishment, but some sort of rehabilitation so that she can become a good parent. I’m not confident the government can accomplish such an outcome, but I think that’s the right direction.