20-year-old Ashley Nicole Cox of Corbin, Kentucky has been arrested and charged with murder after she allegedly gave birth and dumped her baby in a prison trash can.

Cox, who was not an inmate (at the time), was visiting an inmate at Roederer Correctional Complex and reportedly gave birth to a full-term baby in the restroom Sunday morning and left it in the bathroom trashcan. It was discovered when someone noticed blood on the floor from her giving birth.

According to Cox she miscarried while in the restroom but law enforcement says that’s just not true.

Cox is currently lodged in the Oldham County jail on charges of Murder as well as Concealing the Birth of an Infant. The cause of death is still pending the official autopsy report but preliminary reports show the baby was still alive when it was born. They aren’t sure who the father is.

Updated 3/17/10 – It’s been brought to my attention that Cox and her family deny that she even knew she was pregnant. According to the news report linked to by Trench her sister said “We were unaware of this pregnancy and we strongly believe that Ashley was unaware of it too. We are not only in shock but we are greiving this unexpected loss. Ashley will always be loved; by her friends, family and co-workers. A mother’s love, as well as a sister’s love, is unconditional“.

That’s all well and good until you get to the cause of death. Toilet tissue was jammed down the baby’s throat in order to suffocate her. The autopsy shows that the baby was alive and healthy when she was born.

Cox has been suspended from her job at a daycare in Corbin pending the results of the investigation. They tend to do that when you’ve been accused of murdering a child.

She pleaded not guilty to murder and was given bond of $2.5 million last Wednesday and she is supposed to have another court appearance for this afternoon at 1pm.

Ashley’s Old MySpace