Chloe Coplen-Anderson, an 18-year-old from Nebraska, received a prison sentence of 35 to 60 years on Thursday for the horrific killing of her newborn son. The crime occurred when Coplen-Anderson was 16, and she had managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from her family. The Nebraska Attorney General’s Office reported that she gave birth in her bedroom and then used a kitchen knife to take the infant’s life.
Coplen-Anderson had entered a no-contest plea to charges of second-degree murder. The prosecution disclosed that she had hidden her pregnancy from her parents and delivered the baby in their Gordon home on November 6, 2023. After the birth, she retrieved a knife from the kitchen and returned to her room, where she inflicted fatal wounds on the newborn.
The police were alerted to the situation when the teenager’s father reported that the baby was not breathing. Upon their arrival, the father told the responding officer that the child was stillborn and beyond saving, according to court documents. However, the scene that the officer encountered suggested a different narrative.
The officer discovered the lifeless infant in the teenager’s room, swaddled in a towel. Court records indicate that the baby had a severed windpipe and multiple stab wounds on the left side of his chest. The visibly distressed mother pointed out marks on the baby and implicated her daughter in the infant’s death. Both parents also reported seeing their daughter take a knife from the kitchen earlier that day.
The murder weapon was not initially found at the scene. However, the police were later called back to the house when Coplen-Anderson’s father found a blood-stained knife in his daughter’s closet.
Todd Lancaster, the teenager’s attorney, told reporters that his client had been a victim of family abuse and that the brutal act was a result of enduring trauma and mental health issues. He also stated that Coplen-Anderson had been impregnated by a 19-year-old when she was just 15.
Coplen-Anderson, who has already served nearly two years in prison, could be at least 76 years old before she is eligible for release. Her time already served will be counted towards her sentence.