Idaho woman allegedly left newborn’s body in suitcase inside doghouse

BANNOCK COUNTY, Idaho (TCD) -- A 32-year-old woman has been charged with multiple felonies after her newborn child was found deceased inside a suitcase in a doghouse on her property.

A Bannock County Sheriff’s Office activity report shows Jessica Weeks was taken into custody for injury to a child, failure to notify or delaying notification of death, and destruction, alteration, or concealment of evidence. She has previously been arrested on drug-related charges.

Court documents cited by East Idaho News say Weeks allegedly called her friend "in a panic" Jan. 27 and said she was in labor. Her water reportedly broke two days prior, but she refused to go to the hospital due to her history of drug use. While giving birth, Weeks allegedly "insisted on stopping and having a cigarette."

The friend reportedly noted Weeks was "not really showing any interest" in the child after its head came out. The woman reportedly tried saving the child by performing rescue breaths. The child's father, Robert Ramsey, also attempted to resuscitate the newborn, but the child did not survive.

The affidavit says the friend wrapped the child in a baby blanket and put the child in the suitcase because there was "no other flat surface in the house to place the baby." Weeks' home reportedly had an "extreme amount of clutter everywhere."

Both the child and Weeks tested positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine.

According to the Idaho State Journal, law enforcement officials from the Bannock County Sheriff’s Office received information from an inmate that Weeks had a child, placed the newborn’s body in the piece of luggage, then left the suitcase in a doghouse. Another inmate reportedly told investigators he found the child’s body while cleaning.

A woman contacted law enforcement after her son, who is incarcerated, told her a "deceased infant [is] possibly going to be located in a piece of luggage near the doghouse in the back of the residence."

The son reportedly told officials he inmate spoke with the friend who was at Weeks’ home when she gave birth. Another male inmate allegedly saw the child in the bag when he was cleaning Weeks' home. When he went to the doghouse, he opened the suitcase and noticed an "infant’s leg that flopped onto his arm."

The child was reportedly placed in a garbage bag.

After talking to the inmates, deputies executed a search warrant at Weeks' residence and arrested her for the drug charges. While there, they reportedly smelled the "odor of decomposition" and discovered a "purple carry-on style suitcase" in the doghouse.

The front of the doghouse was reportedly piled with trash bags and a tire. Deputies took the top off the structure and took the suitcase out, where they found a "blueish baby blanket" and "numerous types of insects."

The child’s body and bodily tissue were reportedly decomposed.

According to East Idaho News, the child was born at 36 to 40 weeks and there was no evidence of trauma. The child’s father is also facing a charge of failure to notify or delaying the notification of a death.

Weeks is in custody at the Bannock County Jail with bond set at $50,000. She could face a maximum of 25 years in prison if she is found guilty.

MORE:

• Daily Activity Report, 9/23/2023 - Bannock County Sheriff's Office
• Deputies: Local woman arrested after hiding her dead newborn girl in suitcase in backyard doghouse, 9.25.2023 - Idaho State Journal
• Woman arrested after police find dead newborn left in suitcase inside a dog house, 9/27/2023 - East Idaho News
• Father charged after newborn’s body is found in suitcase inside dog house - East Idaho News