Updated – Sarah Tatum Indicted for Attempted Murder

By admin on April 1, 2009

Sarah Tatum

19-year-old is was a student at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Involved in college life, she was the vice-president of Finances for RHA, a university group. Majoring in Finance Sarah Elizabeth Tatum had a promising life ahead of her. All except for the part about the baby that she gave birth to in her dorm room Monday night.

There aren’t any details released as far as the how and why but Sarah has been arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and child abuse. (She has since been released to the custody of her father and will have a mental evaluation prior to her court date) Apparently she has been accused of trying to kill her infant son after giving birth. 911 was called at some point and the Tucson Fire Department took both Sarah and her baby to the University Medical Center for treatment. When she was released earlier today she was arrested.

Was this a case of post-partum depression or a mental illness that she has kept hidden or something more dark and sinister? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that a young mother killed her newborn so that they wouldn’t be in the way, however heartless that may sound. From comments I’ve come across from people familiar with Sarah say that this is very unlike her and they are all shocked.

The University of Arizona is quick to cut their losses and cover their ass as quickly as they can. They have suspended her and she is not allowed on campus. The RHA website which listed her has been quickly taken down and the parent directory containing photos of the executive board has been cleaned of her photo and any other information concerning Sarah. She does also have a Facebook page but it’s private.

This is one of those stories that I had to contemplate writing about for a while before writing. It’s very easy for me to want to call her bad names and drag her to the curb but in this case I’ve got the feeling that there is more involved. Not that I don’t think that she did it, but emotionally. I’ll update this as I can. Police haven’t said whether the baby is still alive or not but by the absence of murder charges I am assuming that he is.

Update – From what I have been able to ascertain since I got home this evening Sarah Tatum’s baby is in critical condition in the hospital right now (update below). The spokesperson for CPS won’t release any more details about the baby right now.

According to what Tatum told police she miscarried in the shower and claimed the bay was born dead, at which point she placed the baby in a bag of dirty laundry. When the police cut the bag open they found a full term baby gasping for air. When he was taken to the hospital he was suffering from Hypoxia, from being inside the bag for at least two hours before they arrived.

In her interview with the police Sarah Tatum told them that she had hidden her pregnancy and had not seen a doctor prior to giving birth.

Update II – Earlier today a Grand Jury in Arizona returned an indictment for Attempted First Degree Murder as well as Child Abuse.

From what I was told via email earlier this evening, the baby was released from the hospital on March 12th and is currently in CPS/Foster care according to the spokesperson for the Department of Economic Security. As soon as I get an update in print I will link it here.

One of the things that I found really disturbing isn’t necessarily the fact that she didn’t want the baby, it’s the way she went about it. Arizona does have a safe harbor law and she could have simply dropped the baby off at a hospital or fire station. It shows a real lack of respect for human life in my eyes.

If you are local to Arizona KOLD 13 will have more details on their 5pm newscast.

Updated
- Apparently Sarah Tatum told police she had miscarried in the shower
and put the baby in a bag.

Update II – I received an update via email today that the baby is alright.

Update III – 19-year-old Sarah Tatum’s trial for attempted murder and child abuse has been set for May 25th, 2010.

R

I knew sarah growing up…. we went to the same church. I can’t believe she did this. I really can’t. I feel bad for her family. They’re good people.
pontificator

This girl is a piece of human garbage… and all of the liberals will line up to figure out how such a wonderful caring girl could do this horrible act. It is a shame that Arizona could not execute her for this… she is a sociopath that needs to be sterilized with a rusty hook (just prior to being killed). This is what happens when you devalue life and allow babies to be vacuumed into sinks to prevent the embarrassment of girls who cannot keep their legs together.
http://houseofzathras.com Mrs. Who

In cases like this (and also where a woman chooses to have an abortion), my thought is always this:

Why did she feel she had to do this? Where are the people to whom she could have turned to for help? Society tells women they can do and achieve whatever they want. BUT…in situations like this, it is obviously beyond what Ms Tatum thought she could handle. Wasn’t there anyone who noticed the pregnancy? Anyone with whom she could have confided? She obviously felt very, very alone. The school’s quick reaction in ‘erasing’ her achievements shows very little support. No, they’re not responsible for her choices, but do they actively reach out with any programs to help girls in need like this?
random,

ok, she was a huge bi#$% and i can totally see that crazy whore doing that to her own kid. shes a crazy piece of white trash and deserves to rot in jail. if your friends with her than your a piece of sh$% too
Katrina Stone

Wow. I understand every ones anger at her actions, but she was obviously mentally ill and scared of the consequences. She should have gotten an abortion or given the kid up for adoption, but perhaps her religion made her feel too guilty about the pregnancy to admit it to her friends and family. Maybe that drove her to think that she had to hide it by killing the baby. I know of many, many cases where girls who are raised in religious households do this kind of thing. It’s just another testament to our countries puritanical standards and lack of sexual education. Really we should be partially blaming our society.
Dark_Light

Oddly enough, when a woman chooses NOT to get an abortion, the conservatives (see pontificator’s post) still feel the need to take cheap shots at “liberals.” As if there were liberals on campus forcing this girl to NOT get an abortion but to place her baby in a plastic bag for 2 hours instead. *rolling eyes*

This young woman most likely grew up in a household where she was afraid her parents didn’t love her unconditionally. Rather than risk their rejection & to risk her education, she chose to ignore her pregnancy and as a last resort she simply tried to erase all evidence of her ‘mistake.’

Hopefully the baby will survive & she won’t be tried for his death. And hopefully, her parents are standing by her & will get her the help she so desperately needs.
Nathan Papa

i dated sarah when she was a freshmen for about 8 months. and i never ever wouldve thought of her ever pulling something off like this. it doesnt sound like something she would do. i only hope now is that the baby is ok.
anoymous

The buzz around campus is that this was completely out of character for this girl. Before judging her maybe you should ask yourself what would have made her feel that desperate to ignore a pregancy then try to dispose of her infant? This girl could have been raped or it could be a cause of incest. We know she had options abortion, adoption but she didn’t feel she had them. I know it’s a horrific incident but dont judge her I’m not defending her, but she obviously has some deep seeded issues and needs help.
Daniel Hanson

If you don’t know her, you have no right to speak of her. I cannot condone what she did, but being a long time friend of hers I can say for certain that the must have been some extreme sircumstances which we are not aware of. She was an amazing girl and had a great life a head of her. What happened was a tradgedy and a horror, but if you never knew her, ill kill you for speaking ill.
R

I knew sarah growing up…. we went to the same church. I can’t believe she did this. I really can’t. I feel bad for her family. They’re good people.
pontificator

This girl is a piece of human garbage… and all of the liberals will line up to figure out how such a wonderful caring girl could do this horrible act. It is a shame that Arizona could not execute her for this… she is a sociopath that needs to be sterilized with a rusty hook (just prior to being killed). This is what happens when you devalue life and allow babies to be vacuumed into sinks to prevent the embarrassment of girls who cannot keep their legs together.
http://houseofzathras.com/ Mrs. Who

In cases like this (and also where a woman chooses to have an abortion), my thought is always this:
Why did she feel she had to do this? Where are the people to whom she could have turned to for help? Society tells women they can do and achieve whatever they want. BUT…in situations like this, it is obviously beyond what Ms Tatum thought she could handle. Wasn’t there anyone who noticed the pregnancy? Anyone with whom she could have confided? She obviously felt very, very alone. The school’s quick reaction in ‘erasing’ her achievements shows very little support. No, they’re not responsible for her choices, but do they actively reach out with any programs to help girls in need like this?
random,

ok, she was a huge bi#$% and i can totally see that crazy whore doing that to her own kid. shes a crazy piece of white trash and deserves to rot in jail. if your friends with her than your a piece of sh$% too
Katrina Stone

Wow. I understand every ones anger at her actions, but she was obviously mentally ill and scared of the consequences. She should have gotten an abortion or given the kid up for adoption, but perhaps her religion made her feel too guilty about the pregnancy to admit it to her friends and family. Maybe that drove her to think that she had to hide it by killing the baby. I know of many, many cases where girls who are raised in religious households do this kind of thing. It’s just another testament to our countries puritanical standards and lack of sexual education. Really we should be partially blaming our society.
Dark_Light

Oddly enough, when a woman chooses NOT to get an abortion, the conservatives (see pontificator’s post) still feel the need to take cheap shots at “liberals.” As if there were liberals on campus forcing this girl to NOT get an abortion but to place her baby in a plastic bag for 2 hours instead. *rolling eyes*

This young woman most likely grew up in a household where she was afraid her parents didn’t love her unconditionally. Rather than risk their rejection & to risk her education, she chose to ignore her pregnancy and as a last resort she simply tried to erase all evidence of her ‘mistake.’
Hopefully the baby will survive & she won’t be tried for his death. And hopefully, her parents are standing by her & will get her the help she so desperately needs.

Updated – Sarah Tatum Indicted for Attempted Murder

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