close
close

Pleasant Grove woman charged with attempted murder of her unborn child

AMERICAN FORK – A Pleasant Grove woman was charged Tuesday with behaving in a way she hoped would cause the death of her unborn child.

Janessa Jean Turner, 41, is charged in 4th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of lewdness with a child, a Class A misdemeanor.

The investigation began on September 14, when Turner was on a video call with her ex-boyfriend's children, ages 9 and 11. During the call, Turner exposed her breasts, according to the indictment. When the children's mother saw this and told Turner about it, “she responded that it was no big deal because the children had seen her breasts before when she was bathing naked.”

The mother then took the phone from the children, took a screenshot of the call and contacted the police.

When officers spoke to Turner, they noticed the odor of alcohol. She was given a breath test and her blood alcohol level was reported at 0.301%, the charges state.

However, because Turner was also “visibly pregnant,” police took her to the local hospital for examination before taking her to jail.

“While there, (Turner) told a social worker that, with the intent to kill her fetus, she had been starving herself for the past two months, drinking excessive amounts of Kahlua daily for the past two months, and driving recklessly around trains in hopes of causing an accident that would cause a miscarriage. (She) also said that she had been camping for the past few days with the intent to 'do things' that would cause a miscarriage or labor and that she could then bury the infant's body without anyone knowing,” the indictment states.

Turner also said that if the baby had been born alive, “she would have killed it or let it die, and she still wanted to kill the baby,” according to charging documents.

According to court records, Turner had previously been convicted of child abuse. The charge was reduced from a second-degree felony to a Class B misdemeanor for beating and placing a 10-year-old girl in a chokehold.

Resources on child abuse:

  • Utah Coalition Against Domestic Violence operates a confidential, 24-hour national domestic violence hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The national child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with children

If you feel overwhelmed with a child, need a break or feel you need advice or training, you can contact one of the following places:

  • The Family Support Center has 15 locations across the state and offers free crisis care for parents who have appointments to attend or are stressed. They also offer counseling and family support. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
  • Prevent child abuse in Utah offers home visits in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers a variety of trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual training and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
  • The home visit office partners with local agencies to conduct home visits with pregnant women and young families who want to learn more about parenting. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development and more. For more information, visit homevisiting.utah.gov.
  • The Safe Haven Act allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously surrender custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child's mother can surrender the child or ask someone else to do it for her. Newborns should be surrendered at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns surrendered this way will be cared for by hospital staff and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.

You may also like...