Teenage Black Girl Caught Shoplifting Panties had a Dead Baby in Her Bag

NY Daily News
October 18, 2013

Tiona Rodriguez.
Tiona Rodriguez.
A suspected teen shoplifter was busted Thursday after she was found to be carrying a dead fetus in a plastic bag while swiping lingerie at a midtown Victoria’s Secret, cops said.

The horrifying discovery at the Herald Square store occurred after a security guard spotted the 17-year-old girl and a pal snatching sexy undergarments off the rack and called police.

Officers responded to what seemed like a routine property crime. But as they corralled the two girls, store security guards noted a strong odor and made the gruesome find.

One of the teens, Tiona Rodriguez, told police she suffered a miscarriage the day before. Rodriguez, already the mother of a young, healthy son, was taken to Bellevue Hosp

A police source said she was at least 61/2 months pregnant when she went into labor. But another source said Rodriguez was “nearly full-term.”

“She said she didn’t know what to do,” the source said.

On Wednesday night, Rodriguez posted on her Facebook page, complaining: “These Cramps, SON.” She also noted that she was excited about a job interview she had Wednesday at Chipotle.

Police set up a command center Thursday night at the Glendale, Queens, home of Rodriguez’s friend, Francis Estevez. Detectives believe she may have had the child there, sources said.

After paramedics arrived at the Victoria’s Secret flagship store Thursday, Rodriguez, who was wearing sneakers and sweatpants, was taken out in a wheelchair. Hours later, officials from the medical examiner’s office removed the fetus. Cops swarmed the 50,000-square-foot store on Broadway at W. 34th St., conducting an investigation even as customers, most of them oblivious to the disturbing find, continued shopping.

“She’s a good girl. I can’t believe she would do that,” said Zami Ford, 17, a neighbor of Rodriguez’s in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. “Who the hell would do that? That’s sickening.

Ford said she didn’t even realize Rodriguez was pregnant. She said Rodriguez lives with her mother and son, who is about 2 years old.

“She goes to school. She does what she has to do. She’s no problem,” Ford said. “We grew up together. I’ve known her since she was little. She was probably nervous and didn’t know what to do. She would never hurt anyone.”

Read More