Neptune Teen Who Pled Guilty To Killing Own Baby Now Sentenced

NEPTUNE, NJ - A Neptune Township resident who previously pled guilty to killing her baby in 2019 after giving birth in Neptune Township have been sentenced to serve a decade in prison, authorities said.

Jada M. McClain, 20, of Neptune Township, was sentenced to 10 years in a New Jersey State Prison after pleading guilty to first degree aggravated manslaughter, according to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office. Her sentence is subject to the provisions of the No Early Release Act, which requires McClain to serve 85 percent of the sentence before becoming eligible for release on parole.

Quaimere Mohammed, 21, also of Neptune Township, was sentenced to five years after he pleaded guilty to second degree disturbing or desecrating human remains in connection with the death of a newborn baby.

On April 4, 2019, the Asbury Park Police Department received a report that Jada McClain, a then-student at Neptune Township Regional High School, had recently given birth, and that the newborn was deceased.

A joint investigation between Neptune Township police and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit revealed that McClain had become pregnant by her boyfriend, Quaimere Mohammed, also a student, sometime in July 2018.

McClain explained to investigators that she hid the fact that she was pregnant from her parents and that she gave birth to a boy the morning of March 29, 2019 in her home. After giving birth to the child, McClain pressed her hands on the boy’s chest until he stopped breathing. McClain And Mohammed disposed of the child’s body in a dumpster on Monroe Avenue in Asbury Park later that morning.

Detectives later recovered surveillance video that captured Mohammed disposing the child’s body near the Washington Village apartment complex, the MCPO said. The contents of the dumpster, including the newborn’s remains, were transported to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, where they were compacted and buried. The infant’s body was never recovered.

“This case is a horrible tragedy. An infant is dead and two young people are going to prison. New Jersey’s Safe Haven Protection Act provides a legal, safe, and confidential process for anyone wishing to relinquish custody of a newborn. It is important that people be made aware of this law,” said Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

New Jersey Safe Haven Infant Protection Act became law on August 7, 2000, which allows a parent who is unable or unwilling to care for an infant to give up custody of a baby who is less than 30 days old in a safe, legal and anonymous way.

All that is required is that the baby be brought to a hospital emergency room or police station in New Jersey, the MCPO said. As long as the child shows no signs of intentional abuse, no names or other information is required from the person delivering the baby.