Geraldton mum to be sentenced over newborn baby found in freezer
Monique Burton, from Geraldton, four hours north of Perth, had concealed the pregnancy by telling her partner and family that she had bloating from terminal liver cancer.
She fell ill shortly after giving birth and was taken to hospital where she repeatedly denied the pregnancy, according to doctors.
Burton was later flown to King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth where she eventually confessed to a hospital social worker she had been pregnant.
Police then searched her home and found the baby's body wrapped in a garbage bag and placed in a chest freezer.
A district court was told Burton secretly gave birth on the floor of her lounge room in August 2022, while her partner and children slept in other rooms.
Burton admitted she wrapped the infant in her underwear and leggings before placing him in a garbage bag and tossing him behind the couch.
The now 35-year-old then went to sleep, and did not tell anyone.
She was taken to hospital the next day, where doctors picked up signs of a recent pregnancy and birth.
It was her partner who discovered the bag when he was searching for a lost mobile phone under the couch.
He claims he never opened it but later told police he suspected it might have been a baby.
Instead of calling police, he placed the bag in the freezer.
Methamphetamine was found in the infant's system during a post-mortem examination, although a cause of death has not been determined.
Burton also admitted to accepting thousands of dollars from the public through a GoFundMe page set up after she faked having cancer.
Burton, who pleaded guilty to interfering with a corpse and fraud over the fundraiser, will be sentenced on Friday.
Her partner received a 12-month community based order for improper interference with a corpse.
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The mother of a baby found dead in a freezer after she concealed her pregnancy has avoided jail time. Monique Ellen Burton gave birth to a child, known as Baby Burton, in secret in the lounge room of her home at Geraldton in Western Australia in August 2022. The now 35-year-old said the child was stillborn. She wrapped the body up in her leggings before concealing the baby in a black garbage bag which she hid behind her couch. Burton kept the pregnancy secret from her partner of 14 years Shaun Balaam, who was not the biological father, and kept lying even after he took her to hospital despite inquiries from staff. Later, when Balaam popped home he found the bag, he thought he may have felt a head inside and hid the bag in a freezer on their veranda. Burton, still in hospital, was unaware he did this at the time but later told police what happened. 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"What you did involved a degree of indignity towards Baby Burton and would quite rightly be viewed as repugnant by members of the community," Judge Renton said. He said she had expressed significant remorse and had a low risk of reoffending. She was also hit with fraud charges related to a GoFundMe someone else set up to cover expenses related to her ficticious liver issues, although the judge noted she did not create the fundraiser and even though she accepted more than $3000 her actions were "largely passive". Balaam pleaded guilty to a similar crime and was previously handed an 18 month community corrections order. The mother of a baby found dead in a freezer after she concealed her pregnancy has avoided jail time. Monique Ellen Burton gave birth to a child, known as Baby Burton, in secret in the lounge room of her home at Geraldton in Western Australia in August 2022. The now 35-year-old said the child was stillborn. She wrapped the body up in her leggings before concealing the baby in a black garbage bag which she hid behind her couch. Burton kept the pregnancy secret from her partner of 14 years Shaun Balaam, who was not the biological father, and kept lying even after he took her to hospital despite inquiries from staff. Later, when Balaam popped home he found the bag, he thought he may have felt a head inside and hid the bag in a freezer on their veranda. Burton, still in hospital, was unaware he did this at the time but later told police what happened. It was not the first pregnancy she kept secret and Burton repeatedly lied about having liver issues to explain away her pregnancy symptoms including her swollen belly. She told police her memory of the events was "really fuzzy" and she disassociated. Earlier this week, Burton pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a corpse to prevent or prejudice an investigation. During sentencing in the District Court on Friday, Judge Darren Renton said it was not possible to determine Baby Burton's cause of death because he was placed in the freezer but it was likely he was stillborn. "You said there was no noise from the baby and he looked like a doll," he noted. The mother was handed an 19-month suspended jail sentence, with the judge finding her motive for hiding the pregnancy stemmed from a desire to avoid the consequences of what would happen if the secret was found out. "What you did involved a degree of indignity towards Baby Burton and would quite rightly be viewed as repugnant by members of the community," Judge Renton said. He said she had expressed significant remorse and had a low risk of reoffending. She was also hit with fraud charges related to a GoFundMe someone else set up to cover expenses related to her ficticious liver issues, although the judge noted she did not create the fundraiser and even though she accepted more than $3000 her actions were "largely passive". Balaam pleaded guilty to a similar crime and was previously handed an 18 month community corrections order. The mother of a baby found dead in a freezer after she concealed her pregnancy has avoided jail time. Monique Ellen Burton gave birth to a child, known as Baby Burton, in secret in the lounge room of her home at Geraldton in Western Australia in August 2022. The now 35-year-old said the child was stillborn. She wrapped the body up in her leggings before concealing the baby in a black garbage bag which she hid behind her couch. Burton kept the pregnancy secret from her partner of 14 years Shaun Balaam, who was not the biological father, and kept lying even after he took her to hospital despite inquiries from staff. Later, when Balaam popped home he found the bag, he thought he may have felt a head inside and hid the bag in a freezer on their veranda. Burton, still in hospital, was unaware he did this at the time but later told police what happened. It was not the first pregnancy she kept secret and Burton repeatedly lied about having liver issues to explain away her pregnancy symptoms including her swollen belly. She told police her memory of the events was "really fuzzy" and she disassociated. Earlier this week, Burton pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a corpse to prevent or prejudice an investigation. During sentencing in the District Court on Friday, Judge Darren Renton said it was not possible to determine Baby Burton's cause of death because he was placed in the freezer but it was likely he was stillborn. "You said there was no noise from the baby and he looked like a doll," he noted. The mother was handed an 19-month suspended jail sentence, with the judge finding her motive for hiding the pregnancy stemmed from a desire to avoid the consequences of what would happen if the secret was found out. "What you did involved a degree of indignity towards Baby Burton and would quite rightly be viewed as repugnant by members of the community," Judge Renton said. He said she had expressed significant remorse and had a low risk of reoffending. She was also hit with fraud charges related to a GoFundMe someone else set up to cover expenses related to her ficticious liver issues, although the judge noted she did not create the fundraiser and even though she accepted more than $3000 her actions were "largely passive". Balaam pleaded guilty to a similar crime and was previously handed an 18 month community corrections order. The mother of a baby found dead in a freezer after she concealed her pregnancy has avoided jail time. Monique Ellen Burton gave birth to a child, known as Baby Burton, in secret in the lounge room of her home at Geraldton in Western Australia in August 2022. The now 35-year-old said the child was stillborn. She wrapped the body up in her leggings before concealing the baby in a black garbage bag which she hid behind her couch. Burton kept the pregnancy secret from her partner of 14 years Shaun Balaam, who was not the biological father, and kept lying even after he took her to hospital despite inquiries from staff. Later, when Balaam popped home he found the bag, he thought he may have felt a head inside and hid the bag in a freezer on their veranda. Burton, still in hospital, was unaware he did this at the time but later told police what happened. It was not the first pregnancy she kept secret and Burton repeatedly lied about having liver issues to explain away her pregnancy symptoms including her swollen belly. She told police her memory of the events was "really fuzzy" and she disassociated. Earlier this week, Burton pleaded guilty to one count of interfering with a corpse to prevent or prejudice an investigation. During sentencing in the District Court on Friday, Judge Darren Renton said it was not possible to determine Baby Burton's cause of death because he was placed in the freezer but it was likely he was stillborn. "You said there was no noise from the baby and he looked like a doll," he noted. The mother was handed an 19-month suspended jail sentence, with the judge finding her motive for hiding the pregnancy stemmed from a desire to avoid the consequences of what would happen if the secret was found out. "What you did involved a degree of indignity towards Baby Burton and would quite rightly be viewed as repugnant by members of the community," Judge Renton said. He said she had expressed significant remorse and had a low risk of reoffending. She was also hit with fraud charges related to a GoFundMe someone else set up to cover expenses related to her ficticious liver issues, although the judge noted she did not create the fundraiser and even though she accepted more than $3000 her actions were "largely passive". Balaam pleaded guilty to a similar crime and was previously handed an 18 month community corrections order.
