Police in upstate New York say a mother allegedly abandoned her 11-month-old baby in an access pipe inside a shed full of mud and water and left her to die. Schenectady police issued an Amber Alert for Halo Branton on March 10 and desperately searched for the infant after finding her mother, 24-year-old Persia Nelson, disoriented at a General Electric plant on the evening of March 9.
Within hours of issuing the alert, police found the infant on the General Electric campus in Schenectady and took her to an area hospital, where she died from hypothermia. Her mother appeared in court on March 11 and now faces murder charges.
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Authorities issued an Amber Alert late Saturday evening.
Authorities began the search for Halo and a woman later identified as the child’s mother on Saturday, according to a press release from the Schenectady Police Department.
“Anyone with information is asked to please contact 911 or the number listed in the Amber Alert. We are also asking those that live in the area of Campbell Avenue to check any Ring Doorbell cameras or any outside surveillance for a female, possibly wearing black pants and black sneakers, walking in the area with a baby under a blanket after 9:00pm on Saturday, March 9, 2024,” the release reads.
As the Albany Times-Union reported, a winter storm was forecast to move to the area that evening, and police worked with multiple agencies to find Halo.
The mother was found first.
Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney said in court on March 11 that Nelson was located in a heated building on the General Electric campus but allegedly said she had lost her baby, according to the Times-Union. Searchers later found Halo in a soggy utility shed on the campus. “The water came up to her chest and around her head, but not face,” he said, and she did not drown.
The baby's body had been dumped down a pipe access area, according to Law & Crime.
Emergency crews rushed Halo to the hospital.
Schenectady Police spokesperson Ryan Macherone addressed the media shortly after Halo’s body was discovered and said the child was taken to the hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Carney said in court Monday that Nelson “left the child there to essentially die,” according to Law & Crime via WRGB.
Loved ones started a GoFundMe account for Halo’s father.
Her uncle, Easton Gregory, began a fundraiser on behalf of her father, Amar Branton. He said the father is heartbroken and that any donations will help him with final expenses for his daughter.
“I do not want him to have to worry about anything other than his beautiful son and healing his heart. Amar is an amazing and loving father who works really hard so his children can thrive," the fundraiser reads. "Please donate to help this young family have the time they need to heal. If you are unable to donate please help by sharing this post. And if nothing else, please pray for healing and health for this family.”
It has brought in donations of more than $12,000 thus far.
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Nelson faces murder charges.
The mother appeared in Schenectady City Court for arraignment on Monday on a charge of second-degree manslaughter. That has since been upgraded to murder after the autopsy revealed the child died from hypothermia, per the Times-Union. Judge Carl Falotico set her bond at $1 million with a $500,000 cash bail.
