Police: Mother of abandoned infant found, charged

Herald-Leader Staff Report

Police have arrested and charged the mother of an infant who was found Wednesday morning on a Lexington porch.

Ashley Stephens, 23, of Lexington is being treated in an area hospital, police said in a written statement released Thursday afternoon.

She has been charged with abandonment of a minor, a felony. She could face one to five years in prison if convicted.

The state's Cabinet for Families and Children has taken custody of the baby.

Lucia Gilchrist found the child about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday as she was leaving for work. The boy was wrapped in blankets and put in a laundry basket on the front porch at 145 Lincoln Avenue, near downtown Lexington.

With the baby was a note asking for help in finding him a good home, Gilchrist said.

Gilchrist said she does not know how long the baby was on the porch, although she thought she heard crying in the early hours. She assumed it was an upset baby being walked along the street by a neighbor.

After finding the baby, Gilchrist called police.

The newborn, who appeared to be about two or three days old, was taken to a local hospital, and he seemed healthy Wednesday morning, police said.

Kenwick Neighborhood Association president Kristin Ingwell-Goode said Wednesday evening that many Lincoln Avenue residents whom she talked to are shocked by the discovery. She lives down the street from where the baby was found, but she wasn't home at the time.

“It's a very friendly neighborhood,” Ingwell-Goode said. “My hope is that whoever is the mother is aware of that and that's why she chose this location.”

Gilchrist said the baby looked well-taken care of. She thinks whoever left the baby was doing what he or she thought was in the best interest of the child. “I believe that his mother deserves all of our care and concern and compassion because he was cared for,” she said. “He was in good shape; he had just been abandoned or left. Somebody put him in a basket with a nice pillow, and left him somewhere where they felt like he would be found and taken care of.”

It is legal to anonymously leave a child at a hospital or police station, but statutes prevent adults from intentionally abandoning minors and placing them at risk of injury, according to police.