Arizona Mother Throws Newborn Baby Away In Amazon Center Bathroom: “I Panicked”

An Arizona woman was arrested after police found her dead newborn baby in an Amazon distribution center bathroom. 

Samantha Vivier, 22, says she didn’t know she was pregnant and “panicked” after giving birth to her newborn baby girl on Jan. 17 in a Phoenix Amazon distribution center. Vivier then wrapped the full-term baby in a plastic bag and dumped her in the facility’s restroom garbage. 

Vivier, who works at the Amazon center, told police she’d gained 15 pounds but never felt the baby move inside her, and hadn’t visited the doctor in a year. Vivier gave birth during her lunch break at around 11:30 a.m.; Vivier explained the baby wasn’t breathing or moving which made her “confident” that it was stillborn. The woman stayed in the stall for an “extended period of time,” and eventually another employee gave her paper towels and a plastic bag to clean up the blood. 

Vivier claims she threw the baby away “to hide the birth from the father of the baby.” After the woman was taken home by a friend, several hours passed and a janitor began cleaning the restroom. The janitor noticed one trash bag was “heavier than usual,” and peeked inside to find the “unresponsive” and “cold to the touch” baby. 

A witness told police Vivier was sick in the bathroom for two hours; Vivier confirmed she gave birth and police were sent to her location. Vivier was booked Jan. 22 on suspicion of unlawful disposal of human remains. During Vivier’s initial court appearance Tuesday, prosecutors said they do believe that the baby was stillborn, but that a medical examiner will determine the exact cause of death.