Mother Who Ditched Newborn In Bathroom Sentenced to 20 years In Prison

The Indianapolis woman who ditched her infant in a trash can will spend 20 years in prison.

Briana Holland was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years total for attempted murder, prosecutors announced Wednesday. She pleaded guilty to the charges late last summer.

Holland left her work station at Carrier Corp. in Wayne Township in August 2014 and gave birth to a boy in the restroom, according to police, where she then left the child in a waste basket. Holland was 22 years old at the time. 

Coworkers found the baby and got him medical attention. The child had toilet paper wrapped around his neck, a partial tampon applicator in his mouth, and a paper bag over his head when coworkers found him, according to police.

The Carrier Corp. facility is located across the street from a fire station, where the baby could have been left under Indiana's Safe Haven law.

“We cannot emphasize enough that Indiana’s Safe Haven law provides a safe choice for anyone who is in crisis and unable to care for a newborn child. Under this law, an unwanted newborn can be given up anonymously to a hospital emergency room, fire station or police station,” county prosecutor Terry Curry said in a statement.

Holland told police officers she placed the child in the trash can because she did not know what to do with him.