The U.S. student charged with ‘child homicide’ after allegedly throwing her baby out of a Paris hotel window has been moved to a secure psychiatric unit.
Mia McQuillin, 18, was on Thursday out of formal police custody and in a specialist care unit.
She was arrested on Monday in her second floor room at the Ibis Styles Hotel in the French capital’s 20th arrondissement after a newborn was found on the street below.
The child still had ‘the umbilical cord’ attached and was wrapped in a single sheet.
Passers-by saw the baby lying on the pavement, and noticed the hotel window open 30ft above, while calling police.
Despite efforts at revival, the baby was declared dead at the nearby Robert Debré Hospital, where McQuillin was also operated on.
There were fears that McQuillin may have been suffering from ‘pregnancy denial’ after giving birth unexpectedly, according to investigators.
A prosecuting source told Le Parisien newspaper: ‘Three days after being taken into custody’ the suspect was ‘taken to the psychiatric infirmary of Police Headquarters.’
The unit ‘takes in patients who are dangerous to public safety due to potential psychiatric disorders,’ the news outlet added.
McQuillin is a gap-year student from Bend, Oregon, and was travelling with a party of fellow Americans around Europe.
All of them are being interviewed by detectives, along with trip coordinators, according to the investigating source.
Sources at the scene told yesterday they saw a group of three leave the hotel to take a call sometime after the tragedy occurred.
Members of McQuillin’s family are also expected to travel from the USA to support her.
‘I have nothing to comment because I don’t know anything,’ Mia’s shaken grandfather Ralph McQuillin, 78, told DailyMail.com.
‘And that’s pretty much where the family is. That’s all I can say.’
Mia’s family members declined to comment further.
A criminal enquiry for ‘child homicide’ has been launched by Paris prosecutors, supported by judicial police and a specialised child protection unit.
‘The investigation is ongoing and the precise circumstances of this tragedy are still to be established,’ said another investigating source.
The Ibis Styles three-star budget hotel, where rooms cost around £80 a night, remained open on Thursday.
The baby had been wrapped up in a sheet when it was discovered on the ground near the hotel.
Witnesses were reportedly ‘alerted by screams’ at around 6am on Monday before calling the emergency services, according to Paris Match.
The newborn was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival due to the seriousness of the injuries.
The Paris prosecutor’s office told Le Parisien that the child succumbed to injuries at around 7:45am local time.
‘The newborn was treated urgently but did not survive. The juvenile protection brigade was tasked with the investigation into the homicide of a minor,’ a statement from the prosecutor’s office read.
‘The mother, an American national, is part of a group of young adults traveling in Europe.
‘She was taken to hospital where she is to undergo an operation following her delivery.
‘She is also taken into custody on-site. The possibility of denial of pregnancy is considered.’
Denial of pregnancy is a rare condition affecting around 1 in 475 expecting mothers at 20 weeks gestation, and 1 in 2,500 to the point of delivery, research has found.
The condition ‘is a “red flag” that should trigger referral for psychiatric assessment,’ researchers assessed in a 2011 paper.
The paper notes that ‘for some, the necessary emotional adaptations’ to the emotional and physical toll of pregnancy ‘are not possible, resulting in maladaptive coping mechanisms’.
‘These range from depression and substance abuse through to overt denial of pregnancy.’
The paper warns that denial of pregnancy can result in psychological distress, unassisted delivery and neonaticide.
McQuillan was taken to the same hospital for treatment.
Detectives arrested her at the clinic and charged her with ‘child homicide’, according to French authorities.