Woman charged with fetal homicide after abortion; burying infant at home, police say
WOLFE COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) - A Kentucky woman has been charged with fetal homicide after police say she admitted to terminating her pregnancy at home.
Kentucky State Police arrested 35-year-old Melinda Spencer on charges of fetal homicide in the first degree, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
The investigation began on Wednesday when Kentucky State Police said they were contacted by a clinic in Campton.
Staff at the clinic reported that a woman, later identified as Spencer, disclosed that she aborted her pregnancy at her home on Flat Mary Road.
Troopers and detectives interviewed Spencer at the clinic, where she told them that she had ordered medication online to complete an abortion.
Spencer took the medication, which resulted in the death of a developed male infant, police said. She then buried the infant on the back of her property in a shallow grave.
Detectives said this was confirmed after they found the infant in a shallow grave, as Spencer had described.
Kentucky has a near-total ban on abortion. The state does not currently have a law that restricts traveling to another state for abortion care.
Kentucky authorities say the case against Spencer remains an ongoing investigation.
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