Pleasant Grove woman charged with attempted murder of her unborn child

AMERICAN FORK — A Pleasant Grove woman was charged Tuesday with engaging in behavior she hoped would cause the death of her unborn child.

Janessa Jean Turner, 41, is charged in 4th District Court with attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and two counts of lewdness involving a child, a class A misdemeanor.

The investigation began Sept. 14 when Turner was participating in a video call with the children of her former boyfriend, ages 9 and 11. During the call, Turner left her breasts exposed, according to charging documents. When the mother of the children saw this and told Turner, she “responded that it wasn’t a big deal since the children had seen her breasts before when she was skinny dipping.”

The mother then took the phone from the children, took a screenshot of the call and contacted the police.

When officers talked to Turner, they detected an odor of alcohol. She was given a breath test and her blood-alcohol level was recorded at 0.301%, the charges allege.

‘Visibly pregnant’

“While there, (Turner) told a social worker that, intending to kill her fetus, she had starved herself for the past two months, drank excessive amounts of Kahlua daily for the past two months and driven recklessly around trains hoping to get into a crash that would cause a miscarriage. (She) also said that she had been camping over the past couple of days with the intention of ‘doing things’ that would cause a miscarriage or labor and that she could then bury the infant’s body without anyone knowing,” the charges state.

Turner also said if the baby were born alive, “she would have killed it or let it die, and that she still wanted to kill the baby,” according to the charging documents.

Court records indicate Turner was previously convicted of child abuse. This charge was reduced from a second-degree felony to a class B misdemeanor, for hitting a 10-year-old girl and putting her in a chokehold.

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Child abuse resources:

• Utah Domestic Violence Coalition operates a confidential statewide, 24-hour domestic abuse hotline at 1-800-897-LINK (5465). Resources are also available online: udvc.org. The statewide child abuse and neglect hotline is 1-855-323-DCFS (3237).

Help with Children

Those who feel stressed out with a child, who need a break or who feel like they need counseling or training can reach out to one of the following agencies:

• The Family Support Center has 15 locations throughout the state and offers a free crisis nursery for parents who have to keep appointments or who are stressed out. They also offer counseling and family mentoring. Call 801-955-9110 or visit familysupportcenter.org/contact.php for more information.
• Prevent Child Abuse Utah provides home visiting in Weber, Davis, and Box Elder counties. Parent Educators provide support, education, and activities for families with young children. Their statewide education team offers diverse trainings on protective factors, digital safety, bullying, and child sex trafficking. They are available for in-person or virtual trainings and offer free online courses for the community at pcautah.org.
• The Office of Home Visiting works with local agencies to provide home visits to pregnant women and young families who would like to know more about being parents. Home visitors are trained and can provide information about breastfeeding, developmental milestones, toilet training, nutrition, mental health, home safety, child development, and much more. Find out more at homevisiting.utah.gov.

The Safe Haven law allows birth parents in Utah to safely and anonymously give up custody of their newborn child at any hospital in the state, with no legal consequences and no questions asked. The child’s mother can drop off the child, or the mother can ask someone else to do it for her. The newborns should be dropped off at hospitals that are open 24 hours a day. Newborns given up in this manner will be cared for by the hospital staff, and the Utah Division of Child and Family Services will find a home for the child. For more information, visit utahsafehaven.org or call the 24-hour hotline at 866-458-0058.