Ruling expected Tuesday in abandoned baby case
It always was Nunu Sung’s intention to go back for the newborn son she left under a bush in a Wheaton yard, her attorneys say.
Lawyers trying to convince a DuPage County judge that the 27-year-old Burmese refugee shouldn’t raise the child made another point in court Friday: Sung didn’t go back.
Assistant State’s Attorney Augusta Clarke said during the closing arguments of Sung’s parental fitness trial that Sung showed no concern for the boy after secretly giving birth early June 12, 2009, behind a garage outside a cousin’s apartment along Crescent Street in Wheaton.
“Her concern was for herself,” said Clarke, noting that the nude baby, his umbilical cord still attached, was left under a neighbor’s bush. “Leaving a child outside in the cold without any means of protection is abandonment.”
Sung has called her abandonment of the boy “a mistake” and is fighting in court to be reunited with him after her release from prison this month.
On Tuesday, Judge Robert Anderson will decide whether Sung is a fit parent. If she isn’t, the case will proceed to a second phase in which the judge will hear evidence and rule on whether to terminate her parental rights entirely.
On the morning her son was born, Sung experienced a “one-time medical emergency” that caused her to leave the child, according to her lawyers. The baby was found at least 90 minutes later by a neighbor and his dog.
Terra Howard, one of two lawyers representing Sung, said in court Sung endured seven hours of unassisted labor. The traumatic outdoor delivery left Sung confused, exhausted and suffering from major blood loss, her attorneys say.
“She was in a medical crisis,” Howard said. “She did not know what was happening.”
Sung took her baby to a neighbor’s yard and placed him under a bush that her attorneys say had special meaning to her.
“She tried to put him in a safe place,” Howard said.
Sung then “stumbled” back to the apartment to tell her cousin what happened, according to Howard. But before Sung could speak to anyone, she “passed out on the floor” and didn’t regain consciousness until after a police officer arrived, Howard said.
The child’s court-appointed guardian contends that Sung fabricated the story about wanting to go back for the child after authorities got involved.
“It’s clear her intent was to leave that child,” said guardian and attorney Kathleen Anderson. “It was not to have someone find that baby.”
Anderson said Sung didn’t even take off her jacket to dress and warm the child. “I can’t think of anything more cruel,” she said.
In October 2010, Sung pleaded guilty to obstructing justice for lying to investigators about the birth. She is slated for parole from Lincoln Correctional Center this month.
A foster family from Wheaton is caring for the boy, now 2, and is willing to adopt.
An unwed Sung became pregnant while living in Texas. Sung didn’t receive prenatal care during her pregnancy, which she hid from relatives after moving to Wheaton from Texas in February 2009.
The father hasn’t expressed an interest in pursuing custody of his son, officials said.
Sung’s attorneys said she has complied with most recommendations by state welfare officials to be reunited with her son, but that some required services weren’t made available to her.
According to Howard, Sung pleaded guilty as part of a deal with prosecutors because she wants to be with her son.
“Miss Sung relied on our system of justice,” Howard said. “This case for Nunu has been about hoping that someone would help her.”
Ruling: Prosecutor argues intention to go back for baby is a lie