Charges Against Irish Backpacker in Australia Over Baby’s Death Have Been Dropped

Prosecutors in Australia have dropped charges against an Irish backpacker who was accused of unlawfully concealing the birth of a child.

The 25-year-old woman gave birth in the remote northern town of Halls Creek in the Kimberley region of Australia in May, but the baby died.

She was alone in a hotel room at the time of birth.

The woman maintained that she did not know she was pregnant. After the stillbirth, the traumatised woman hid what had happened from her friends for a number of days before they found out what happened and took her to a local hospital. Hospital staff later notified the police.

The woman was backpacking with friends in the Kimberley region of Western Australia at the time

Australian law requires all births to be reported, even if the baby has died of natural causes, so investigators had initially charged the woman with concealing the birth.

Western Australia prosecutors told Perth Magistrates Court today it had been decided it was not in the public interest to proceed with the case.

The young woman was not in court. She was allowed to return to her family in Ireland back in August after a judge in a bail hearing ruled that there were "serious concerns" for the woman’s welfare.