A 26-year-old woman studying to becoming a Catholic nun smothered her newborn son to death because she didn’t want anyone to find out she had been séxually active.
Police in DC (USA) say Sosefina Amoa gave birth to the boy on October 10, 2013 in her room at the Little Sisters of the Poor elderly care facility. Afraid the nuns would hear the newborn’s cries and discover she lied about sexual activity, police say Amoa told investigators she smothered him.
The hospital called police. A day later she and a nun took his body to a hospital in a small, black luggage bag. She allegedly told detectives she had heard the child cry for two to three minutes and then, worried that someone would hear; she covered the baby’s mouth with a wool garment.
When she removed it, the child wasn’t breathing. She then ‘wrapped the child in Samoan garb, placed the child on her bed…remained in her room’ until the next morning. Amoa was charged on Wednesday with first-degree murder after the death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation.She told police she did not know she was pregnant.
According to the arrest warrant, she ‘began Religious Formation, which included religious classes, doctrine, and prayer life’. The 26-year-old arrived from Samoa on October 5, 2013 and was considered a postulant – someone who wants to be admitted to the order. The Little Sisters of the Poor says in a statement that they’re praying for everyone involved.
“We all feel this is a very tragic situation. We are just praying for everyone involved. Now that it is in the hands of the legal system, we will not be providing any further comment.”
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