Woman gives birth on toilet, throws twin in trash, police say

WEST MELBOURNE, Fla. -- (WKMG) -- A Brevard County woman who claims she didn't know she was pregnant is accused of giving birth to twins while on the toilet then throwing one of the babies in the trash, according to the West Melbourne Police Department.

Rachael Lynn Thomas, 30, was arrested after police were called to her home on 138 Laurel Oak St. around noon on Sunday.

Police said that Thomas told them she was feeling ill on Sunday so she left work early and went home then when she tried to use the restroom, she gave birth to a baby in the toilet. She said she never saw the newborn open its eyes, cry or breathe, according to the arrest warrant released on Tuesday.

Thomas said the baby was cold to the touch and blue in color, police said. She put the baby in a blue shirt and attempted to clean up the mess, telling police she believed she flushed the placenta, records show.

That baby was taken to Holmes Regional Medical Center, where he or she was pronounced dead at 12:40 p.m. Sunday, according to the report.

A search was conducted at the home and police said they found blood on the toilet, in the bathtub, on the sink cabinet and scissors that appeared to have been cleaned off, according to authorities.

Police said they found bloody tissues in the kitchen trash can then searched the garbage can in the carport and found a plastic bag containing the placenta and another deceased newborn. That bag was located under another plastic bag that contained cat litter, a bloody menstrual pad and bloody ACE bandages, according to the report.

The newborn had an umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and under her arm, police said.

When asked about the newborn in the garbage can, Thomas first said, "There was another one?" then later said, "There were two and they were both dead and she got scared," according to the warrant.

Thomas told detectives that she did not know she was pregnant because she continued to have her menstrual cycle up until this month. The report did not indicate if the babies were born premature.