Thursday, January 28, 1999
Dad has custody of tot left in trash
BY MICHAEL D. CLARK
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON — “Baby Hope” has a home — for now.
A Butler County Juvenile Court judge on Wednesday assigned temporary custody of the premature girl — who police say was abandoned by her mother in a trash can in December — to her father.
Holly Ann Mackey, dubbed “Baby Hope” by those who rescued her from a Franklin company's bathroom trash can, was awarded to the biological father.
Linda Lee Smith, spokeswoman for the Butler County Children Services Board, said the awarding of temporary custody does not mean the end of county assistance for the severely disabled infant.
“He is certainly going to need help,” said Ms. Smith of the father.
She said the father's biological relationship made him the logical choice for custody when weighed against Ms. Mackey's family members.
The father, who lived with the baby girl's mother, Deborah Mackey, but was not married to her, was not available for comment.
The child, born six weeks' prematurely, was buried in trash and abandoned Dec. 14. Police investigators have said Ms. Mackey hid her pregnancy from the father.
The baby suffers from a deadly birth defect that will likely mean a short life of little, if any, consciousness. The infant's condition is not related to her premature birth or her abandonment.
The baby remains at the Dayton Children's Medical Center and is reported to be breathing independently and being fed through a tube. No release date has been set.
Her mother has been charged with attempted murder. She is being held at the Warren County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Butler County Children Services will assist Holly Ann Mackey's father with information and referral to appropriate community services, Ms. Smith said. Butler County's Cooperative Extension Agency's program of developing skills needed to manage a special needs child will also be used, she said.
headTO HELP
Donations to assist in covering medical costs and other expenses can be made at Community National Bank, 1400 E. Second St., Franklin 45005.
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