A woman studying to become a Catholic nun has been charged in the District of Columbia with smothering her newborn son, police said.
The woman, 26-year-old Sosefina Amoa, gave birth to the boy Oct. 10 in her room at the Little Sisters of the Poor elderly care facility, police said. Afraid the nuns would hear the newborn’s cries and discover she lied about sexual activity, police say Amoa told investigators she smothered him by placing a wool garment over the child’s mouth and nose and applying pressure.
A day later she and a nun took his body, in a small black luggage bag, to a hospital, police said.
Investigators interviewed Amoa after she arrived at the hospital and say they found bloody clothing and small traces of blood during a search of the convent room where she had been staying.
Amoa was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder after the death was ruled a homicide by asphyxiation. Her attorney declined to comment on the case Friday.
The order said in a statement that it is praying for everyone involved.
“We all feel that this is a tragic situation,” said Sister Constance Veit, communications director at Little Sisters of the Poor.
Amoa arrived from the island of Samoa on Oct. 5 and was considered a postulant, someone who wants to be admitted to the order.
She initially told investigators that she did not know she was pregnant but that she experienced significant bleeding just prior to delivering the baby, whom she named Joseph.