Who is Jessica Lynn Weeks? Idaho woman arrested after hiding newborn daughter's remains stuffed in suitcase for months
BANNOCK COUNTY, IDAHO: An Idaho woman was arrested last week after police claimed that they found her newborn daughter's skeletal remains stuffed into a carry-on suitcase that was hidden inside a backyard doghouse for months. Jessica Lynn Weeks, 32, was subsequently taken into custody on Friday, September 22.
Weeks is now charged with one count each of injury to a child, failure to report death, and concealing or destroying evidence in connection with the infant’s death.
Weeks had an active arrest warrant out for her
According to East Idaho News, Weeks' child died shortly after she was born, but she did not contact authorities because she had a warrant out for her arrest and was involved in substance abuse prior to giving birth.
How was the tragedy uncovered?
As per the report, the probe into Weeks started when an imprisoned person in Cache County, Utah, told his mother he had information about a dead newborn in Bannock County, Idaho.
The mother then informed the authorities that her son knew about a “deceased infant” whose body was “located in a piece of luggage near the dog house in the back of the residence.”
What did the inmate tell the authorities?
When police spoke with the inmate, whose name has not been disclosed in the report, he reiterated his story, apparently naming Weeks as the baby’s mother and claiming that she refused to go to the hospital because she had been using drugs throughout her pregnancy. The inmate then noted that one of Weeks’ female friends was present for the birth of the baby.
A second inmate also reportedly knew about the deceased newborn and had even seen the child's remains. He allegedly told police that he was cleaning up Weeks’ yard several months after she had given birth when he came across a suitcase.
Apparently, he saw a newborn’s body wrapped in plastic upon opening the case and that the infant’s leg “flopped onto his arm.” The inmate reportedly said he left the home and never returned.
According to the Idaho State Journal, the second inmate drew investigators a map of Weeks’ property, which they subsequently matched with satellite photos of the home. The information led authorities to obtain a search warrant for Weeks’ home, located in the 3400 block of East State Highway 40.
Authorities make shocking discovery at the scene
After executing the warrant on June 5, authorities said they could immediately smell the “odor of decomposition” coming from the yard.
They quickly located the “purple carry-on style suitcase” in the doghouse and found the newborn’s skeletal remains inside. The body was covered in “numerous types of insects” and transported to the local morgue for an autopsy, as per the report.
Where was Weeks when the authorities arrived?
Weeks was located hiding in a shed on the property and arrested on an outstanding warrant stemming from drug charges, the outlet reported. The next day, investigators spoke with one of her friends who was present when Weeks delivered the baby in January.
She reportedly told them Weeks denied medical help while giving birth, but noted that she “insisted on stopping and having a cigarette” during the delivery process. She added that Weeks was “not really showing any interest in [the baby] after the head came out.”
When the baby was delivered, the friend and the child’s father performed “rescue breaths” and tried to resuscitate the baby for about an hour after birth but the child died. Toxicology tests performed on the child reportedly came back positive for methamphetamine and amphetamine.
Weeks was worried about going to jail
“Idk wtf to do bro… and if they turn me in at the hospital, I’m f—— going to prison probably cuz I have warrants,” Weeks wrote in a message, per East Idaho News.
Weeks was booked into the Bannock County Jail and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. She is due to appear before Magistrate Judge R Todd Garbett on October 5.