The attorney for a northeastern Pennsylvania woman accused of giving birth in a sports bar bathroom, wrapping her newborn in a plastic bag and placing him in a toilet tank says his client suffers from depression and other psychological ailments.
Defense attorney Michael Corriere argued in court papers Wednesday that doctors have diagnosed Amanda Hein with major depression, suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder, attention deficit disorder and say she has mutilated herself since her imprisonment.
The 27-year-old Allentown woman is charged with criminal homicide.
Authorities say Hein was with three men at Starters Pub in Lower Saucon Township the night of Aug. 18 when she excused herself to go to the restroom and then gave birth.
Next Hein allegedly suffocated the newborn with a plastic bag and then put the baby in the tank of a toilet in the woman's restroom.
A cleaning crew found her son's body in the toilet on Aug. 19 at the pub in Bethlehem, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. A coroner concluded the boy was born alive.
Northampton County prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty. The trial is set for April.
Pennsylvania is one of 49 states that offer mothers safe -- and legal -- alternatives to abandoning their babies. The Safe Haven Law allows parents to relinquish babies at any hospital in the state without fear of criminal prosecution, provided that the child is unharmed.
Starters Pub is a popular spot in the Lehigh Valley and served as a landmark location for Eagles fans headed up to training camp since its founding in 2000 until the team moved training camp back to Philly this season.
