A shocked community is rallying around a newborn baby boy found in a drain beside a cycleway beside the M7 on Sunday morning.
A 30-year-old Quakers Hill woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced Blacktown Local Court via video link today in relation to the incident.
She was charged with attempted murder. Court papers show police state she dumped her baby down the drain knowing it could kill him.
Documents before Blacktown Local Court allege that, when interviewed by police, the woman ‘‘made full admissions to putting the less than 24-hour-old baby down a 2.4-metre drain knowing it may kill the baby’’.
Police will allege the boy was born in the early hours of November 18 and pushed down a stormwater drain only hours later.
He was found by a father and daughter out cycling on Sunday morning.
The boy’s mother was arrested at 2pm on Sunday after police door-knocked residents in the area.
Relatives of the accused mother were abused outside the court by members of the public, who yelled: ‘‘You ought to be ashamed’’.
The woman, who has no criminal history, has been living with her aunt, uncle and cousin in an apartment in Quakers Hill.
She did not appear before the court this morning and there was no application for bail.
Court documents revealed police had opposed her bail as they viewed her as a flight risk as her parents and siblings live in Samoa.
Magistrate Tim Keady ordered the woman be medically assessed while in custody.
A spokeswoman for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead told the Sun this morning that the baby remains in a stable condition.
She was unable to say how long the boy would be in hospital and declined to comment on what he’s being treated for.
The story has sparked an overwhelming community reaction with a mixture of shock, relief the baby was rescued before temperatures soared above 40 degrees, and hope he would go to a loving home when he leaves hospital.
There were offers to care for the baby, including from a New Zealand mum with a family in Blacktown who contacted the Sun after she was touched by the story.
‘‘I can give him family, a home and everything he needs. This poor bubba did not deserve the start he had to life,’’ she wrote.
Feelings towards the baby’s mother were mixed as the tense scenes outside the court demonstrated.
While some people called for harsh punishment, others were more compassionate with concerns for the mother’s well being.
''Hope that mum is okay, now that the baby is being looked after,’’ Jeannette Sklibosios said on Facebook.
But Kristien Sabine added: ‘‘I don’t know the person’s situation or what’s wrong with them mentally but there is no excuse that justifies putting a defenseless baby down a drain. There’s nothing wrong with sending the child to a foster home or adoption.’’
The woman will face Penrith Local Court on Friday after today’s adjournment.
■ See blacktownsun.com.au for continued coverage of the case.
