A 14-year-old girl allegedly strangled her newborn baby while his umbilical cord was still connected, then hid him in a shoebox until the stench of his decaying body led to the boy's discovery, police say. Cassidy Goodson of Lakeland, Florida, faces charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. Authorities are deciding whether to charge her as an adult.

According to The Ledger, Goodson killed the newborn after secretly giving birth at home in the bathroom. Goodson was believed to have been treated for a miscarriage on September 19 — the same exact date she gave birth — and her parents weren't aware of anything.
The high school freshman wore baggy clothes to hide her pregnancy. Her two aunts say that they suspected their niece was pregnant and that Cassidy's mother, Teresa Goodson, allowed the girl to take a pregnancy test in private. Teresa Goodson's sisters repeatedly warned the mother that Cassidy was pregnant.
Three days after the incident occurred, Polk County authorities received a call from Teresa Goodson stating that she smelled an odor. The dead baby was found in a shoebox in Cassidy's bedroom. Goodson's excuse for killing her baby was that she didn't know what to do with it, while her defense team argues that she is just a child and has no parental support. Investigators say she showed no emotion during the questioning.

When asked why she didn't come forth, Cassidy told police she didn't want to change the relationship between her and her parents.


In a statement released by the Polk County Sheriff's Office, authorities say the high school student used scissors to pry the 9.5-pound baby out and gave birth into the toilet. Goodson allegedly lifted her baby out of the toilet, placed her hands on the infant's neck and squeezed until the baby stopped breathing.

Does she deserve to be charged or should the adults who missed the signs of her pregnancy be held accountable?

I personally think she should be charged of course, but should she be charged as an adult or as a juvenile?

Just curious on what you ladies thought.

adult. she knew what she was doing.

Charge her with nothing. Put her in a full care mental facility.

She knew exactly what she was doing. Charge her as an adult and put her in an adult prison. Do not release her at 18 like they do with other juvenille defendants.

How can you hide being pregnant with nine and a half pound baby?

Quoting bbbt:" Charge her with nothing. Put her in a full care mental facility. "

she was not mentally unstable. she knew exactly what she was doing. especially by hiding the body

Quoting Mrs cree:" How can you hide being pregnant with nine and a half pound baby?"

just because baby is big doesn't mean the mother is.

Adult.
You should know by the time your 4 that it's wrong to murder someone. A 14 year old definitely understands that it's wrong.. especially since she tried to hide it and lied about it.
I'm pretty sure she had the whole thing planned out for months.
Crazy little bitch should be locked up for good!

Quoting Ravey Candyass:" she was not mentally unstable. she knew exactly what she was doing. especially by hiding the body"

This.. Her lawyer will probably try to plead insanity though

She's a child, behaved childishly and should be charged as such. My heart goes out to teens who do that because they are so desperate and ill informed.

She should be charged as an adult. That's so sad, what a disgusting person!

That is awful   Charge her as an adult. She knew it was wrong enough to hide the body. That baby deserves justice.

Quoting Ravey Candyass:" she was not mentally unstable. she knew exactly what she was doing. especially by hiding the body"

I completely disagree.

an adult.
she knew she was pregnant, and was covering it up. she knew she would then give birth to a baby, and had plenty of time to ask someone for help.
she took it into her own hands to murder her child AFTER giving birth.
she knew exactly what she was doing.
I'd say it was premeditated murder...

Charge her as an adult. She knew what could happen when she had sex and chose to hide it for 9 months. She then killed him and put him in a shoe box and hid him in her room. She knowingly defied her mother by faking the pregnancy tests.