A woman abandoned her newborn baby for nearly an hour after giving birth in a van outside a Vancouver apartment complex.
According to court documents obtained by KATU, on the morning of May 12, Vancouver police responded to 911 calls reporting a woman giving birth outside the Meriwether Apartments at 6221 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd.
A responding officer discovered a newborn girl inside a Ford Econoline van, with her placenta still attached.
Police discovered an older woman, subsequently identified as Nela Antoinette Knigge, 36, in the nearby Goodwill parking lot.
She told authorities that she had recently given birth, and both she and the baby were taken to the hospital.
Knigge was placed on a mental health hold at the hospital and denied giving birth to hospital staff, according to court records.
Police later checked security footage, which they claim shows Knigge entering the van and then leaving, abandoning the child for at least 48 minutes.
The newborn girl was estimated to have been delivered at 36 weeks gestation, or four weeks preterm, weighing 4 1/2 pounds. She was admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit.
The infant also had indications of fentanyl withdrawal and tested positive for methamphetamine.
Police noticed injuries around the baby’s knees, which medical workers maintained were not caused by the birth.
The infant was still on a feeding tube as of May 15.
Knigge was transported to Smokey Point Behavioral Hospital in Marysville, Washington, before being booked into the Clark County Jail on June 5, according to court records.
She is being jailed on a $40,000 bond for criminal mistreatment, abandonment of a dependent, and endangerment with a controlled substance.
Knigge has a prior drug possession conviction and many misdemeanor warrants for her arrest, according to court filings.
Her next court appearance is slated for June 11.
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