14-year-old girl charged as adult in baby-death case

Cassidy Goodson, 14.

LAKELAND, Fla. — A 14-year-old girl who authorities say secretly gave birth to a son and then strangled him, will be prosecuted as an adult.

Cassidy Goodson will appear in court Friday on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. A Polk County grand jury indicted her on Thursday.

Goodson was arrested Sept. 28 after deputies say she gave birth to a 9.5-pound boy inside a bathroom then strangled him.

Detectives say the girl hid her pregnancy from her family. She gave birth to a boy in the bathroom of her home on Sept. 19. She told detectives she choked the baby and put him in a shoebox.

The girl’s mother found the baby in the box, hidden in some laundry. Her lawyer has refused to comment to local media.