Wildwood Woman Charged with Abandoning Newborn in Ellisville

Warrants were issued for the arrest of Kaitlin T. Norton, 19, of Wildwood after she allegedly abandoned her newborn in a yard in Ellisville shortly after the boy's birth earlier this month.

Norton, of the 700 block of Arbor Chase Dr. in Wildwood, was charged with one count of Abandonment of a Child in the First Degree, a Class B Felony, and one count of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the First Degree, a Class C Felony. Bond was set at $40,000.

The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 16 when police say Norton on Westridge Parc Lane in Ellisville sometime after giving birth, then checked herself in to a second hospital later that day. Police located Norton at the second hospital later that evening, and charges were filed the following week.

Ellisville Police Sgt. Nancy Walker said warrants have been sent to St. Louis County Fugitive Task Force, although Norton is not in police custody as of late Tuesday afternoon.

"Her lawyers know that a warrant has been issued so they may make arrangements to bring her in," Walker said.