Teri Rhodes

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 This article documents a current court case.
Information may change rapidly as the case progresses.

Teri Rhodes (born October 15, 1988) is a former college athlete who is accused of asphyxiating her secret newborn baby girl.[1] Originally from Commerce, Michigan, Rhodes was a volleyball player at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania when the incident occurred in August 2007.[2] She has been charged with a general count of criminal homicide, concealing the death of a child, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, and abuse of a corpse on September 19, 2007.[3]

[edit] About

On August 12, 2007, Rhodes apparently complained to a roommate that she wasn't feeling well and went to her dorm's bathroom. She gave birth to a baby that had developed into the third trimester, and was later determined to be 39 and 1/2 weeks old.[4] Later she claimed she did not know she was pregnant until feet emerged, and had passed a volleyball physical two days before giving birth. Neither her friends, family, coaches, or colleagues knew of her pregnancy.[5] The baby lived for approximately 10 minutes until Rhodes placed the baby in a plastic bag.[4] According to CNN, moments after giving birth Rhodes put the infant in a plastic bag and into the bathtub, and then took a shower. Ten minutes later, the infant was dead.[1]

Rhodes was charged with a general count of criminal homicide, concealing the death of a child, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, and abuse of a corpse on September 19, 2007. A preliminary trail date was moved to January 15, 2008 at the request of the defense lawyers.[3]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b "College Athlete Accused of Killing Own Newborn". Host: Nancy Grace. Headline News. CNN. 2007-09-20. Transcript.
  2. ^ Player Bio: Teri Rhodes. CSTV and Mercyhurst College. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.
  3. ^ a b Staff. "Hearing delayed in baby's death", Erie Times-News, 2007-12-05. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. 
  4. ^ a b Thayer, Emily. "Female athletes conceal pregnancies, infant deaths", The Jambar, 2007-12-06. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. 
  5. ^ Yakey, Randal. "Cmmunity [sic] shocked over investigation of student", The Oakland Press, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.