DA drops charges against woman whose baby was found in Whataburger toilet

UPDATE, 5/22/25: Authorities have dismissed the charges against a Texas woman found in a Whataburger restroom on December 19, 2024, with her deceased preterm baby (later named “Baby Mary”) in the toilet. Mallori Patrice Strait, 33, had been charged with “abuse of a corpse” and spent five months incarcerated while an investigation was ongoing. She was released from jail on May 15.

Though initially, a physician at Metropolitan Methodist Hospital who pronounced the baby dead on arrival stated that the preterm baby was likely between 28-30 weeks gestation (roughly seven months), the medical examiner later assessed the baby at five to six months gestation (18-27 weeks) and stated the baby girl had not been born alive but was miscarried (technically referred to as an early stillbirth when at 20-27 weeks). Strait was reportedly homeless and had received no prenatal care.

As reported by the San Antonio Express-News this week, “Law enforcement officials said the baby had severe head trauma, which they determined was consistent with being flushed down the toilet.” However, the office of District Attorney Joe Gonzalez stated there was “no direct evidence” that Strait attempted to flush the baby, though first responders to the scene reportedly had difficulty retrieving the child from the toilet drain’s U-trap before cutting her out of the amniotic sac in an attempt to save her life.

The DA’s office stated that the reason for first responders’ difficulty in retrieving the baby is “undetermined by direct evidence.” KSAT reported that “the presence and condition of pregnancy-related elements that were transported with the fetus to the hospital dispute that it was ever flushed after the miscarriage, according to court documents.”

“Baby Mary” was afforded a proper funeral in January with about 100 people in attendance, thanks to Eagle’s Flight Advocacy and Outreach.

1/10/25: A woman has been arrested after attempting to flush her baby down a toilet at a Whataburger restaurant in Converse, Texas, about a week before Christmas. She has since been charged with abuse of a corpse and is being held on a bond of $100,000.

According to media reports, Mallori Patrice Strait, 33, entered the Whataburger on December 19 at about midnight and stayed in the restaurant lobby until 2 a.m. At that time, she went to the restroom where she allegedly remained for hours, and was heard making noises. A manager reportedly checked on her “continually” and gave her water, then eventually told her she had to leave before ultimately calling 911 out of concern for her welfare. At some point, the manager is said to have noticed “a portion” of a newborn baby when she looked into the stall.

When Bexar County deputies arrived, Strait was reportedly uncooperative and refused to answer questions. Emergency responders from the Converse Fire Department arrived at the scene, at which time, officers told them there was “human like material in the restroom.”

Strait is said to have told firefighters, “I’m sorry, I’m not selfish.”

A report regarding the incident notes that a firefighter “had to physically grab the [baby] and pull on the [baby] to remove the body from inside the ‘U trap’ of the drain on the toilet.” The baby, a girl, had to be cut out of the amniotic sac and was pronounced dead following failed attempts to revive her. She was estimated to have been about 28-30 weeks at the time of her birth.

At 28 weeks, a baby born prematurely has an 80% to 90% chance of survival.

Both Strait and the child were taken to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital where the baby was pronounced dead. The baby girl sustained injuries to her head that were “consistent with the child being forced into the drain, and by suction” that occurred when Strait attempted to flush her down the toilet.

The medical examiner has not yet issued a cause of death.

READ: Unlicensed late-term abortion worker says she told clients how to deliver babies on toilets

Tragically, this is not the first time a mother has abandoned her child after giving birth in a toilet. In February of 2016, a California woman delivered a full-term baby boy into the toilet of a Subway restaurant and then left the premises. In 2013, a woman gave birth to a baby in a Pennsylvania sports bar and then suffocated her child, smoking a cigarette and watching wrestling at the bar for an hour afterward. In 2023, a woman gave birth to her premature child in a toilet at home, and refused to remove the child from the toilet even when instructed to do so by emergency personnel. The baby, who did not survive, had been “covered in used toilet tissue.”

These incidents had nothing to do with the legal status of abortion in those states; abortion was legal through viability at those respective points in time. Every state has a Safe Haven law that allows parents to anonymously surrender a newborn child that they feel unable to care for. In Texas (where the first Safe Haven law went into effect in 1999), a baby 60 days old or younger who is unharmed may be surrendered to a staff member at any hospital, fire station, or emergency medical services station. A handful of locations in Texas have also installed Safe Haven Baby Boxes for anonymous infant surrender since updating the law in September 2023.

According to more recent reports regarding the December Whataburger incident, a child advocate is attempting to gain custody of the baby girl’s remains to provide her with a proper funeral.

“We’re hoping and praying that we get custody,” said Pamela Allen of the nonprofit Eagles Flight Advocacy. “The fact that her mother is being incarcerated waiting to see if any more criminal charges are going to be brought against her, this baby needs a burial.” She added, “These little ones don’t deserve a trash can, a toilet, a piece of luggage at the side of the highway. They don’t deserve that final resting place.”

Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:

Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!