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Jada M. McClain, 20, of Neptune Township, was sentenced to 10 years in state prison by Monmouth County Superior Court Judge David F. Bauman, after pleading guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter, according to Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher J. Gramiccioni.
McClain's boyfriend, Quaimere Mohammed, 21, also of Neptune Township, was sentenced to 5 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to second-degree disturbing or desecrating human remains in connection with the death of a newborn baby, Gramiccioni.said.
On April 4, 2019, Asbury Park police received a report that Jada McClain, a student at Neptune Township Regional High School, had recently given birth, and that the newborn was deceased, according to the prosecutor.
The investigation was referred to the Neptune Township Police Department who, together with the Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office Major Crimes Unit, launched an investigation into the possible "infanticide."
The joint investigation foiund that McClain had become pregnant in July 2018 by her boyfriend, Quaimere Mohammed, also a student at the time,, Gramiccioni. said.
McClain explained to investigators that she hid the fact that she was pregnant from her parents and that she gave birth to a boy in the early morning hours of March 29, 2019, in her home, authorities said.
After giving birth to the child, McClain "pressed her hands on the boy/s chest until he stopped breathing," according to Gramiccioni.
McClain allegedly contacted Mohammed, and later that morning, the two disposed of the child's body in a Dumpster on Monroe Avenue in Asbury Park, the prosecutor said.
Detectives later recovered surveillance video that captured Mohammed disposing the baby's body near the Washington Village apartment complex, Gramiccioni said.
Detectives learned that the contents of the Dumpster, including the newborn's remains, were taken to the Monmouth County Reclamation Center in Tinton Falls, where they were compacted and buried., according to the prosecutor.
The infant’s body was never recovered, he said.
“This case is a horrible tragedy. An infant is dead and two young people are going to prison," Gramiccioni said on Thursday.
New Jersey’s Safe Haven Protection Act provides a legal, safe, and confidential process for anyone wishing to relinquish custody of a newborn.
"It is important that people be made aware of this law,” Gramiccion said.
Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutors Joseph Competello and Stephanie Dugan prosecuted the case.
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