A mother accused in 2019 of leaving her newborn baby in the Georgia woods has accepted a plea deal.
Karima Jiwani pleaded guilty to attempted murder and first-degree cruelty to children on February 13. She received a 30-year prison sentence, with 15 years to be served in custody and the remainder on probation, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.
As previously reported by CrimeOnline, residents living in a rural, secluded area off Daves Creek Road in Forsyth County returned home from a trip on June 6, 2019, to hear faint cries coming from the woods. As they approached the cries, they discovered a tiny newborn girl wrapped in a plastic bag.
The infant, dubbed “Baby India” by hospital staff, survived the ordeal and is now “happy, healthy, and in a safe place,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron H. Freeman said at a news conference in 2019.
To locate her mother, Forsyth County authorities released photos of the newborn they named “India.”
On May 19, 2023, Freeman announced Jiwani’s arrest, stating she was the sole suspect in the case. He explained that investigators had a breakthrough in the case 10 months earlier when DNA led them to the child’s father, and further evidence pointed to Jiwani. The father, according to Freeman, never knew Jiwani was pregnant and had no idea the child existed.
Investigators believe Jiwani gave birth in a car and drove around for a while before “throwing the newborn into the woods like a bag of trash,” Freeman said.
Freeman noted that evidence indicates Jiwani has “a history of hidden and concealed pregnancies and surprise births” and that she went to great lengths to hide her pregnancy with Baby India.
During the trial, Jiwani’s defense highlighted her stable current life; she is a homeowner, a stay-at-home mom to three minor children, and has no prior criminal history. They argued that she was suffering from postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis at the time, according to Fox 5.
On February 13, Jiwani admitted to her role in the attempted murder and first-degree cruelty to children.
“I cannot find the words to describe how someone who should have done their best for a newborn child instead did their worst, and for that, she will spend 15 years in prison,” Sheriff Ron Freeman said. “I am proud of our FCSO team for their dedication and for never giving up on Baby India. Kudos to District Attorney Penny Penn and her team for bringing this case to a positive resolution.”
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[Feature Photo: Baby India/Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office
