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Wisconsin mother charged with concealing the death of a child

Oct 31, 2013

By Dave Andrusko

Zoua Yang

Zoua Yang

A Wisconsin mother of four told investigators she did not know she was pregnant until she gave birth October 10. Whatever she knew or didn’t know, on Tuesday 33-year-old Zoua Wang was charged in Marathon County Circuit Court with concealing the death of a child.

This is a felony that carries a maximum sentence of 3½ years in prison. “Misdemeanor bail jumping charges also were filed against Yang, who was ordered held on a $1,000 cash bond,” The Post Crescent newspaper reported. (This presumably refers to a signature bond she signed back in February when she was released from the Marathon County Jail a month after misdemeanor child neglect charges were filed against her.)

Wausau Police Capt. Greg Hagenbucher said they believe the child was still born. The child’s body has not been recovered.

A week after the baby’s birth an anonymous caller reported to police that Yang was seven months pregnant when she gave birth to a baby and “threw the baby into a black garbage bag and into the dumpster,” according to the criminal complaint. (The complaint does not mention the baby’s sex.)

When questioned by police, Yang admitted the baby was born the morning of October 10 in Wausau in the home of a relative. According to the Post Crescent , “When Yang realized the baby was ‘too large to attempt to flush down the toilet,’ Yang panicked.”

She placed the baby in a plastic bag about 5 in the morning. According to the complaint, a garbage truck arrived about 30 minutes later. “A family member attempted to retrieve the baby from the dumpster, but the trash had already been taken.”

A search was conducted at a nearby County Landfill, “but was called off because a forensic pathologist determined the child’s body would be too badly decomposed to conduct an autopsy,” WSAW TV reported.

Two pending misdemeanor child neglect charges were filed on December 21 against Yang in Marathon County Circuit Court. Her children now reside with their father in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

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Categories: Crime