Corona couple pleads guilty to murdering newborn found inside box

CORONA, Calif. -- (KTLA) -- A Corona couple pleaded guilty Tuesday to murdering their newborn daughter, known as “Baby Jane Doe,” a little over a year after the infant was found inside a cardboard box under the 15 Freeway, prosecutors said.

Joshua Benson, 18, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and Shawna Joelle Andritch, 23, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office. Both are expected to be sentenced on Oct. 18.

Benson faces 25 years to life in state prison while Andritch faces a sentence of 15 years to life.

The baby girl was found by a landscaper inside a yellow 38-count corn dog box that was left under the 15 Freeway in Corona, near Cajalco Road, on July 27, 2018, authorities said. Police were called to the scene and found the dead infant “still covered in afterbirth,” the DA's office said in a news release.

“The baby had been left there with a stuffed animal and a blanket, wrapped in a men's t-shirt that Benson later admitted was his,” the DA news release reads.