SAN ANTONIO – A judge sentenced Rosanne Welch to 15 years behind bars on Tuesday after she left her newborn son at a VIA park-and-ride bathroom nearly two years ago.
Welch was arrested after the public recognized her from surveillance video.
An arrest affidavit obtained by KSAT 12 News suggested Welch was untruthful when first questioned about the baby by a Child Protective Services worker, saying "she had no knowledge of being pregnant." During the same interview, Welch later admitted she "gave birth and saw movement from the newborn."
READ THE ORIGINAL REPORT: Premature baby found alive in Park and Ride bathroom
Welch also said her ex-boyfriend came to the scene and helped her cut the umbilical cord, but the video evidence only showed Welch and two other women enter the bathroom, according to the affidavit.
One woman told investigators she heard a woman moaning and screaming, the other woman found the baby moments after Welch was seen leaving the bathroom and getting on a bus.
Under questioning, Welch's ex-boyfriend admitted he talked to her on the phone in the days leading up to the birth, stating "she told him she was pregnant with his baby but that her current boyfriend was going to raise the baby," according to the affidavit.
The newborn, believed to have been born six week premature, was found at the VIA park-and-ride in the 9400 Interstate 35.
The baby was fighting for his life in the weeks after he was discovered.
Records from Judson ISD confirmed Welch suffers from a mental illness worded as "mental retardation" in her files.
Continuing coverage on KSAT.com
Premature baby found alive in Park and Ride bathroom
SAPD: Baby John Doe on ventilator, improving, still day to day
Police release photos of 'person of interest' connected to baby left in VIA bathroom toilet
SAPD: Few clues available regarding newborn abandoned at VIA Park and Ride
Arrest made in case of baby abandoned in VIA park-and-ride bathroom
Mom may not face jail time for abandoning newborn
Judson ISD records confirm birth mother's intellectual disability
