April 26, 2024
CUMMING, Ga. (AP) — A Georgia woman accused of leaving her newborn daughter in the woods nearly four years ago has been identified, arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Karima Jiwani, 40, was arrested Friday and was being held in the Forsyth County Jail after a judge denied bond on Saturday, jail records show. Hospital staff nicknamed the newborn girl Baby India after she was found in a wooded area in Cumming, about 35 miles north of Atlanta, on June 6, 2019.
Investigators said at the time that sheriff's deputies found the girl after a nearby family reported hearing a child cry. Dramatic video released a few weeks later, showed deputies tearing open a plastic bag to rescue the baby girl.
“This child was tied up in a plastic bag and thrown into woods like a bag of trash,” Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman said during a news conference Friday.
The girl is now “happy and healthy,” Freeman said. He declined to say more, citing the need to protect the girl's privacy.
About 10 months ago, the sheriff's office identified the child's father using DNA, Freeman said. Within the past week, authorities again used DNA to identify Jiwani.
Freeman declined to discuss Jiwani's motive or any details of an interview with her, citing the pending prosecution. Jiwani has been charged with criminal attempt to commit murder, first-degree cruelty to children, aggravated assault and reckless abandonment, in addition to other crimes.
There is no evidence that the father was aware of Jiwani's pregnancy or the abandonment of the baby, Freeman said.
Evidence indicates that the baby was likely born in a car and that Jiwani drove around with her for hours before deciding to tie her up in a plastic bag and abandon her, Freeman said. Jiwani had a history of concealed pregnancies, he said.
“This is an incredible case with the strangest of circumstances from the beginning to the end,” Freeman said.
