Spring Valley woman admits to killing her newborn son

A woman pled guilty to manslaughter today for the death of her newborn baby.

On November 12, 2013 Maria Oliva Guaman-Guaman, 24, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She admitted to strangling the baby and then tossing him into a dumpster outside of a convenience store in Spring Valley.

A worker later discovered the baby in the dumpster stuffed into a plastic bag with his umbilical cord still attached.

Guaman-Guaman was linked to the baby through DNA and was arrested on December 10, 2012.

Two independent psychiatrists examined the woman: Dr. Marc E. Tarle hired by her defense team and Dr. Dominic Ferro, hired by the prosecution. Dr. Tarle determined that Guaman- Guaman had an I.Q. of only 53, having suffered brain damage when she was kicked in the head by a horse at the age of 7 years old.

Both psychiatrists found that at the time of the homicide she had suffered an extreme emotional disturbance.

Based on her guilty plea, Guaman-Guaman will serve 15 years in state prison with five years post release supervision. She will be formally sentenced on September 4, 2014.

Guaman-Guaman is a native of Ecuador who is in the United States illegally, as part of today's plea she will face mandatory deportation after completion of her sentence.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas P. Zugibe, who announced the plea deal, said "This case should serve as a reminder that, under New York's Safe Haven law, a parent can anonymously surrender an unwanted newborn baby to personnel in a safe place, such as a hospital, a police station or a firehouse, without repercussions."