Susan Michelle McFarland, a 23-year-old Pocatello woman accused of abandoning her newborn infant in an alley June 10, has been released from the Bannock County Jail on a reduced $2,500 bond.
The original bond of $15,000 was reduced to $7,500 by 6th District Magistrate Mark Beebe during McFarland's initial court appearance. The latest bond reduction came Monday during a hearing before Magistrate Howard Armstrong.Following her arrest earlier this month, the woman had been hospitalized at Bannock Regional Medical Center for treatment of a post-partum infection. She was released from the hospital.
Armstrong said a Pocatello couple who wished to remain anonymous posted the property bond. The magistrate stipulated that McFarland be placed in an adult foster home or other state-approved facility rather than returning to her parents' home.
"I understand an appropriate place has been found for her, but it is not in the home of the people who posted the bond," Armstrong said.
The abandoned infant was found in a trash bag containing cat litter near McFarland's parents' Pocatello residence. A neighbor heard the baby crying and discovered the child.
The newborn, named Baby Jane by authorities, was hospitalized for several days and then released to the custody of a foster home. The baby remains in temporary custody of the Department of Health and Welfare, pending a custody hearing set for August.