Grandmother Wins Temporary Custody of Abandoned Baby

The mother of an 18-year-old woman who abandoned her 2-day-old son outside a Tustin apartment complex was granted temporary custody of the child Friday over the objections of county social workers.

Juvenile Court Referee Betty Farrell’s order permits the grandmother to keep the baby in an apartment where she will live with the baby’s mother and family cousins in Tustin.

Farrell also ordered a May 5 hearing to determine a more permanent arrangement for the baby.

“We’re pleased because this is the first step toward returning the baby to his mother’s care,” Deputy Public Defender Myles A. Lenhoff said.

Lajuna Shanetta Hayes was arrested after her infant son was discovered on April 3 near bushes outside the Walnut East Apartments, where she had been staying with her cousin, Jacqueline Washington.

Pleaded Guilty

She pleaded guilty to child abandonment on Wednesday and was released from jail the same day. She could face a maximum of three years in prison when she is sentenced on May 16, but Lenhoff said he is convinced that she will not have to return to jail.

“She was scared,” he said. “She was only doing what she thought was best for her baby.”

Hayes was living with her parents in Florida when she discovered last year that she was pregnant. Fearing her parents’ reaction, Lenhoff said, she came to live with her cousin in Tustin and even managed to hide the pregnancy from her cousin. She gave birth to the baby herself in the bathroom of her cousin’s apartment and stayed with the baby in her room for two days to keep her secret.

“But after two days, she knew she could not care for the child herself,” Lenhoff said. “She placed the child near the apartment where she knew her cousin would be sure to see it. She knew she could not take care of the baby on her own, and she knew her cousin could provide a good home for the baby. She thought it was a way she could watch her baby grow up.”

Cousin Called Police

Her cousin did find the baby, but instead of keeping it, she called the police.

Hayes’ mother, Faith Hayes, flew to California after learning about her daughter’s problems.

The baby, originally named Frank, has been at Childrens Hospital of Orange County since it was found. But the child was released to Faith Hayes on Friday afternoon on Farrell’s order. County officials had recommended that the baby be kept at the county’s Orangewood facility for children until the May 5 hearing.

Lenhoff said the baby’s official name now is George Christian D’Angelo John Frank Hayes, which he said were all family names.

The grandmother has agreed to remain with the child in California until her daughter’s legal problems are resolved.

“There was a tearful reunion between mother and daughter this week,” Lenhoff said. “I think everything is going to work out fine.”