21-year-old woman charged with abandoning newborn

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Richland County deputies have arrested a 21-year-old woman they say abandoned her newborn baby outside the laundry room of a Columbia apartment complex.

Sheriff Leon Lott says Orenthia McCuller was charged Tuesday with unlawful conduct toward a child.

Lott says someone called 911 on Monday after finding a baby boy wrapped in a blanket with his umbilical cord still attached placed on a deck at The Enclave apartments.

Authorities say the baby was taken to the hospital and is in good condition.

Investigators say McCuller was arrested after coming forward as the baby’s mother. She was at the Richland County jail awaiting a bond hearing and it wasn’t clear if she had an attorney.