‘Baby Boy Horry’ mother, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter, punishment pending
The mother of Baby Boy Horry, an infant that was found deceased in a bag in Conway in 2008, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in court today.
Judge Paul M. Burch ruled for a “pre-sentence investigation,” which could take 45 to 60 days.
Jennifer Sahr, 34, a Vermont native currently residing in Pensacola, Florida, and a former Coastal Carolina University student, will continue on house arrest until her legal punishment is determined.
Burch said he is deciding with Sahr’s two daughters, ages two and five, in mind.
“I have never had a case like this,” Burch said. “I am zeroing in on the most important people in this case, (Sahr’s daughters).”
The prosecution detailed that the baby was in a Bath and Body Works bag inside a cardboard box, which was left off of S.C. 544 in Conway on Dec. 4, 2008, amid 28-degree weather.
The father of the baby, Ronald Woodham III, was present and spoke during the hearing.
“The only thing he was exposed to was abandonment,” Woodham said, about his deceased son, whom he did not know about until years later.
Sahr’s attorney, Morgan Martin, said that Sahr told him that she did not know she was pregnant until she gave birth. Sahr told him that she had passed out from bleeding and that she did not see the baby make any movements or sounds.
Martin also noted that Sahr had gone to a medical provider at Coastal Carolina University before giving birth because she was not feeling well. During that visit, Sahr claims that she did not know she was pregnant, and the medical provider at the time did not find out either.
Chief Deputy Solicitor Scott Hixson said that Baby Boy Horry was alive upon birth.
What happened between Sahr giving birth and the baby being found deceased is unknown.
Horry County Coroner Robert Edge, who examined Baby Boy Horry, said, “I think (the judge) is moving very cautiously. There are lots of factors and you can’t throw (Sahr’s children) under the bus just to seek revenge on her, if you want to call it revenge. This is just gonna be a complicated situation.”
Edge said that when he examined the infant, his limbs and the rest of his body appeared to be intact.
“Nothing missing from his hands or his feet or anything like that,” Edge said. “Very handsome little child.”
