Woman arrested in death of newborn

Autopsy determines baby girl was born alive after full-term pregnancy

By Christian Hill | The Olympian • Published August 13, 2008

LACEY – A Lacey woman was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of first-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of her newborn daughter, police said.

Jessica L. Wemhaner, 29, recklessly caused the death of her baby by not seeking medical care after the birth, police allege. An autopsy Tuesday determined that the girl was born alive after a full-term pregnancy, police said.

The cause of death has not been determined.

Wemhaner is scheduled to make a preliminary appearance in Thurston County Superior Court today.

Wemhaner was transported by ambulance to Providence St. Peter Hospital in Olympia Sunday afternoon, suffering from medical complications. Doctors told officers she bore signs of delivering a baby, but she and her husband, Daniel, 28, denied knowledge of any child, Lacey police said.

Police obtained a warrant and searched the home the couple rents in the 5900 block of Cherokee Loop Southeast and found the newborn's body shortly after 9 p.m. Police have declined to say where the body was found.

The husband did not know his wife was pregnant or that she had given birth, Lacey police Lt. Jim Mack said. Investigators have no information that proves the baby's father is anyone other than the husband, he added.

The husband, a National Guardsman, is scheduled to deploy overseas next week, Mack said. The 81st Brigade Combat Team, the Washington Army National Guard's largest combat unit, is scheduled to leave to train at Fort McCoy in Wisconsin before deploying to Iraq for a second time.

Jessica Wemhaner graduated from Tumwater High School in 1997 and works as a manager, her MySpace page said. The couple applied for a marriage license at the Thurston County Auditor's Office in November 2003.

Daniel Wemhaner remains in the Olympia jail after being arrested on an outstanding warrant stemming from his arrest for allegedly driving while intoxicated. His wife was released from the hospital and arrested by police on an outstanding warrant stemming from her arrest for an alleged domestic violence incident.

Details of both of those incidents were unavailable Wednesday evening.

Lacey detectives picked up Jessica Wemhaner from the Olympia jail before 2 p.m. and interviewed her at the Lacey police station, Mack said. Afterward, she was transported to the Thurston County Jail for booking. She shed no new light on the baby's death during the interview, Mack said.

He added the investigation hasn't yet been forwarded to prosecutors.

"We're still investigating the case," Mack said. "There are still people we need to talk to."

At the preliminary appearance, the court will determine whether there's probable cause to think she committed the crime. Prosecutors have 72 hours from the time of the arrest to charge Jessica Wemhaner, or they must release her.

A toxicology screening and microscopic studies will be done to try to determine the cause and manner of death, Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock said. The baby was less than a day old, weighing 7.7 pounds and measuring 19.5 inches.

Christian Hill covers Lacey and the Port of Olympia for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5427 or at chill@theolympian.com.