A preliminary hearing date of May 27 was set Thursday for Heidi Sonnenberg, 22, charged with child abuse homicide for letting her newborn baby die after giving birth at home Jan. 14.
According to charges filed in 3rd District Court, Sonnenberg gave birth in her parents' Cottonwood Heights home to a baby girl. She cut the cord with a nail clippers but did not cut or tie it off, according to the charges.The baby took a few breaths but died shortly afterward, according to prosecutors.
Statements by the family indicate Sonnenberg did not tell her parents she was pregnant or that she'd given birth. The baby was discovered by her mother, wrapped up inside a dresser drawer, 10 days later.
Prosecutors believe the full-term baby would have survived if it was delivered in a hospital or with other medical assistance and filed the third-degree felony charge.
Sonnenberg did not appear at Thursday's court hearing on advice of her attorney, Earl Xaiz.
Xaiz said the situation "has been difficult for the family, very difficult."