Baby dies after mum allegedly threw child from moving car
A mum is being accused of throwing her two-month-old daughter from a moving car before trying to kill herself, police said.
American woman Nicole Stasio, 32, is being accused of throwing her daughter from the car in Bali on Tuesday.
Villagers found the infant with severe injuries about a kilometre from where Stasio leapt out of the vehicle. The baby died about seven hours later at the same hospital, Bali Mandara, where Stasio is being treated.
South Denpasar police chief Nyoman Wiarajaya told a news conference that officers haven’t been able to question the mum because she is hospitalised in a severe state of depression.
Chief Wiarajaya said the woman, who was born in California, travelled to Bali with her parents in July. The parents stayed in Bali for about 10 days and Stasio gave birth on the island in September after her parents had left Indonesia.
“She refused to answer when they (the parents) asked about her baby’s father,” Chief Wiarajaya said, quoting information from the driver and tour guide who accompanied the family since they arrived.
“But she gave the impression that she was unmarried and her family preferred that she give birth to a child abroad, like wanting to avoid something,” he said.
The driver, Wayan Siaja, and the guide, Made Arimbawa, told police they had taken Stasio and her daughter to Bali’s international airport on Tuesday evening but Stasio changed her mind about returning to the US and told them to take her back to Ubud, a town popular with tourists for its traditional crafts and culture.
They said she sat silently in the car before the tragic events unfolded, according to Chief Wiarajaya.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
