OLYMPIA Olympia police arrested Jasmine Marie Ritchey, 23, of South Bend last Tuesday for allegedly placing her newborn boy in a plastic bag and abandoning him in a bathroom garbage can at Providence St. Peter Hospital. 

The Olympia Police Department said hospital staff discovered the baby July 12 and resuscitated him. He is expected to survive and was receiving treatment at an undisclosed pediatric hospital last week.

Ritchey was arrested and is in Thurston County Jail on suspicion of attempted second-degree murder and second-degree abandonment of a dependent person. At a court hearing last Wednesday, a judge set her bail at $50,000.

Investigators reported that Ritchey did not disclose her pregnancy to the medical staff when she arrived at the hospital by ambulance after complaining of stomach pain while staying at a nearby Motel 6. 

Ritchey entered a bathroom area and gave unassisted birth to a live, male infant child, the department reported. Ritchey then intentionally hid the existence of the child and its birth by placing the child in a plastic bag and then hiding this bag in a garbage can.

Hospital staff went to investigate her activities in the bathroom and found the child in the garbage can shortly after 5 a.m. after hearing a small grunting sound coming from inside the trashcan.

According to court documents, Ritchey told police that she knew mucus around the babys nose and mouth needed to be removed for the infant to breathe but that she didnt do so. In addition, she did not remove the umbilical cord from around the babys neck to allow for clear breathing because she knew that babys necks were fragile.

Ms. Ritchey further acknowledged that this (placing the baby in a trash can) was a deliberate attempt to conceal the baby from being discovered. Ms. Ritchey said that she was hoping that no one would find out that she had given birth and she understood that without providing the baby medical assistance it would die.

Ritcheys current boyfriend is not believed to be the childs father. He said she denied being pregnant and blamed her growing belly on ovarian cancer.

Tristan Ryan, her former boyfriend, told KIRO 7 Eyewitness News that he thinks he may be the childs father, but so far hasnt been able to determine the truth.

If its my kid my father wasnt there for me Im going to make sure Im there, give him the opportunity, Ryan told KIRO.