Money Woes Cited in Baby Abandonment

A Lancaster woman who abandoned her newborn son in a hospital last weekend was distraught because she and her husband have financial problems and are already the parents of six children, a sheriff’s spokesman said Tuesday.

Sgt. Bob Denham said the accused mother, Angela Morris, 32, “felt a seventh child would be too much to handle.”

The six other Morris children range in age from 1 to 13, he said. Morris’ husband, Daryl, a roofing contractor, apparently has had trouble finding work, Denham said.

Neither of the Morrises could be reached for comment.

Denham said Angela Morris concealed the pregnancy from her husband and checked into Antelope Valley Hospital Medical Center on Friday morning under an assumed name. She gave birth to a 7 1/2-pound son about 7:20 a.m. and was found to be missing from the hospital about five hours later, a hospital spokeswoman said.

When Morris returned home, she told her husband she had had an abortion, Denham said.

“He was real upset over it,” Denham said. “He kicked her out of the house.”

Morris then went to her mother’s home, discussed the situation with her and with friends, and was persuaded to turn herself in to authorities, Denham said. She was arrested on suspicion of child abandonment and scheduled for arraignment May 30.

The case is under investigation by the county Children’s Services Department, which has assumed temporary custody of Morris’ infant. The infant remained at the hospital in good condition.