Woman confesses to strangling her newborn in NYC suburb: police

By Chris Francescani NEW YORK (Reuters) - A mother has confessed to strangling her newborn baby and tossing the body in a dumpster in a suburb north of New York City, police said on Wednesday. Maria Oliva Guaman-Guaman, 23, was arraigned on Tuesday on a second-degree murder charge, said Paul Modica, police chief in Spring Valley, New York, a Rockland County suburb about 20 miles north of New York City. Guaman-Guaman told police she did not want the baby and could not afford to raise the child, Modica said. Local child protective services took custody of the woman's 2-year-old following her arrest, he said. Guaman-Guaman, an undocumented immigrant from Ecuador, confessed to the killing after being linked to the child through DNA evidence, Modica said. He said she strangled the child, but declined to elaborate. Authorities said they did not know if Guaman-Guaman had retained a lawyer. The investigation began on November 12 when the infant's body was discovered at a nearby recycling plant. Guaman-Guaman told authorities she kept the pregnancy hidden from at least seven relatives who were living with her in a home near a Spring Valley convenience store dumpster where she discarded the body. Prior to her arrest, Guaman-Guaman worked at a dog food factory in nearby Hillburn, New York, Modica said. Guaman-Guaman's relatives did not immediately return a call to the home where police say she lived. (Editing by Dan Grebler)