Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6952633/ Story of tossed baby a fabrication Sheriff: Depressed mother made up horrifying taleBREAKING NEWS MSNBC Updated: 3:04 p.m. ET Feb. 11, 2005NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. - Authorities said Friday that the story of a newborn boy who survived being thrown out of a moving car was made up by a depressed woman. The 8-pound, 2-ounce boy, who was believed to be less than an hour old and whose umbilical cord was still attached when he came into the custody of authorities on Thursday, was in good condition at a hospital in Fort Lauderdale. Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne said at a news conference Friday afternoon that the boy was “absolutely perfect.” Nurses at the hospital have nicknamed him Johnny after the doctor who first treated him Thursday, he said. Jenne said the baby was taken to a local sheriff’s office Thursday by a woman who said she saw it being tossed from a moving car, wrapped in plastic. She claimed that a man and a woman were arguing in the car at the time, he said. In fact, Jenne said, the Good Samaritan, the woman in the car and the baby’s mother were one and the same, identified as Patricia Pokriots, 38, a barmaid for a non-profit fraternal organization. Pokriots was undergoing a mental competency hearing, Jenne said, adding that there was no indication that drugs were involved. Pokriots, who was arrested in 2002 on an aggravated battery charge, does not want to keep the baby because she fears she could harm him, Jenne said. The dispensation of the 2002 charge was not immediately known. Baby father’s unidentified Pokriotz gave birth to Johnny in the bathroom of her own mother’s home, where she lives. She refused to identify the father, Jenne said. In a panic, she began driving around and came upon a white sedan in which a man and a woman were arguing. On the spot, Jenne said, she decided to turn her son in to authorities and claim that the couple she spotted had tossed him from the car. Pokriotz presented the baby to a Broward County sheriff’s substation, claiming to have rescued him. She told the story of the quarreling couple, having “decided to lie about what would happen,” Jenne said. Asked about supporting reports from witnesses, Jenne said those people had simply seen the uninvolved couple in the white sedan, he said. Jenne visited Johnny in the hospital and said Pokriots’ initial story had raised troubling questions. “What have we come to as a society and a community?” he asked. But in this case, that question had a welcome answer, Jenne said: “The one great thing that comes out of this is there is a great love for this child, this Johnny.” Jenne stressed that the incident need not have happened, noting that Florida had a “safe harbor law” allowing a mother leave her baby at any medical facility or fire station within three days, no questions asked. “If Patricia had done this, we would not be here today,” he said, but it was not yet clear whether she knew about the law. Un-effing-real :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 As I said on the other thread though, it may have been made up, but I let out a sigh of relief and got a smile just knowing the little critter is O.K.! I would rather it be made up than real! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(Steff @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 03:12 PM) Un-effing-real :headshake Yes, but a heck of a lot better as far as the health prognosis for the kid. I'm sure there will still be families willing to take in this child that was "merely" abandoned, instead of thrown from a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(Kid Gleason @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:15 PM) As I said on the other thread though, it may have been made up, but I let out a sigh of relief and got a smile just knowing the little critter is O.K.! I would rather it be made up than real! He was going to be fine anyway. What is unreal to me is that she made up this story rather than just giving the child up. So hours and hours of police man power were wasted on searching for 2 "kids" that didn't exist. :headshake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Why was the babay in critical condition? What did she do to this kid? Lock her up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:17 PM) Yes, but a heck of a lot better as far as the health prognosis for the kid. I'm sure there will still be families willing to take in this child that was "merely" abandoned, instead of thrown from a car. The boy was going to be fine from the statements of the medical staff that treated him. I don't even know what you are trying to say regarding him being adopted.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosMediasBlancas Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(Steff @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 08:18 PM) He was going to be fine anyway. What is unreal to me is that she made up this story rather than just giving the child up. So hours and hours of police man power were wasted on searching for 2 "kids" that didn't exist. :headshake I'm telling ya, people just panic and don't know what the truth is about their options. They think that by law they can be forced to keep and raise a baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(mreye @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:19 PM) Why was the babay in critical condition? What did she do to this kid? Lock her up! Maybe because he didn't get the immediate care (throat cleared, cord cut, first meal..?). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(mreye @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 03:19 PM) Why was the babay in critical condition? What did she do to this kid? Lock her up! May just have been the situation - self-delivery, several hours old, umbilicus AND placenta still attached, she may not have cleared the mouth and windpipe all that well, obviously she didn't take time to nurse the child... Add her story to an infant that obviously would have appeared distressed, and they probably quickly listed him as critical. That's probably the best call, since the infant would have immediately been handled as a critical care case. Even if they later decide the initial condition should have been a downgrade, the kid got the attention it should have at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:26 PM) May just have been the situation - self-delivery, several hours old, umbilicus AND placenta still attached, she may not have cleared the mouth and windpipe all that well, obviously she didn't take time to nurse the child... Copy cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mreye Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 Yeah, I forgot about that part. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlaSoxxJim Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(Steff @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 03:27 PM) Copy cat. It just took me a while to spell placenta? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 11, 2005 Author Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(mreye @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:28 PM) Yeah, I forgot about that part. Thanks. You forgot...?? Well.. ya know what they say..... the mind is the first thing to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kid Gleason Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 QUOTE(FlaSoxxJim @ Feb 11, 2005 -> 02:29 PM) It just took me a while to spell placenta? b**** of a word, ain't it??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted February 11, 2005 Share Posted February 11, 2005 While she is nutso, I am relieved that the poor boy didn't have a bag over his head or was thrown from a car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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