HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — A 20-year-old Highlands Ranch woman has been charged with the murder of her newborn baby last year.
The charges stem from a year-long investigation after Peyton Green was brought to the hospital showing signs she had delivered a baby but insisting she hadn’t, according to an arrest affidavit.
Green was taken to UCHealth Highlands Ranch by ambulance on Sept. 26, 2020 after she fainted at her home and was bleeding, the affidavit says.
Following an examination the next day, a forensic nurse determined she had been recently pregnant and delivered a baby. Green said she never had sexual intercourse and didn’t have a baby, according to the affidavit.
“I feel traumatized. I just don’t understand how they are telling me I had a baby. I don’t remember having a baby,” Green said, according to forensic nurse examination documents.
The forensic nurse called 911 after the examination concerned Green was potentially a sexual assault victim and that there could be a newborn baby somewhere. When Douglas County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived at Green’s home on Sept. 27, 2020, they found a plastic bag underneath a bathroom sink with a newborn boy dead inside, the affidavit says.
An autopsy report determined the baby was near full term and was born alive. The cause of death was undetermined, according to the affidavit.
A man Green had been dating confirmed to police he and Green had sexual intercourse more than once, the affidavit says. He said she messaged him about two months prior to the baby’s birth telling him she was pregnant and sending a photo of her stomach and an ultrasound image before blocking him, according to the affidavit.
A friend also confirmed Green had told her she was pregnant in June 2020 and asked for advice on how to terminate the pregnancy, the affidavit says.
Green’s parents told investigators they did not know she was pregnant.
On the day deputies found the newborn, her father told them Green has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and executive function disorder, the affidavit says. Green’s mother told investigators Green “never takes ownership or accountability for anything” and they never know if Green is telling them the truth or not.
Green was arrested in Wyoming on Sept. 30 and brought to the Douglas County Detention Facility on Tuesday on charges of first-degree murder, tampering with a deceased human body and attempt to influence a public servant.