Springfield woman speaks out after finding abandoned newborn on doorstep

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) - Police are currently trying to piece together local surveillance footage to try and find the mother of an infant who was abandoned at a Springfield family’s home while they were on a weekend getaway in Boston. Meanwhile, the woman who found the child on her doorstep is speaking out.

After a weekend away in Boston, Juliannys Aviles and her family came home to find a newborn baby boy on the front steps, strapped in a tipped over car seat and covered in blankets on a cold Sunday night.

“It looked like a package. It didn’t look like a car seat or anything the way it was tilted. I heard through this one ear a cry, like a soft cry,” Aviles said.

Now, an investigation is underway to find the infant’s mother. Springfield Police spokesperson Ryan Walsh told Western Mass News that after reviewing local surveillance footage, they determined the infant was left outside for two days prior to being found. So far, efforts to find the mother are turning up dead ends.

“Our detectives are utilizing some investigative techniques with the items that were left there and also trying to utilize camera footage from the area. Right now, that camera footage has been striking out in terms of an actual person,” Walsh explained.

The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families is also involved. In a statement sent to Western Mass News, they said: “The Department of Children and Families received a report and took emergency custody of the child.”

The baby was diagnosed with hypothermia, but the Aviles family has expressed their interest in fostering the abandoned child. Aviles said that the DCF case worker already has a foster home for the child, but she hopes to take the baby in herself.

“We saved this baby’s life and he was meant to be with us,” Aviles added.

Massachusetts is a Baby Safe Haven state, which allows a mother to drop off an unharmed baby, seven days old or younger, at any staffed police department, fire department or hospital without facing charges.

Springfield Police said charges could be filed in this case, but their main focus is just finding the mother.

Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.