Woman accused of attempted murder of newborn

A Morton Grove woman accused of delivering her baby and leaving it in a garbage bag at her Glenview workplace has now been charged with attempted murder, officials said.

Verna Tolentino, 40, was arrested at Thursday and charged with attempted first-degree murder and child abandonment, according to the Glenview Police Department.

Authorities say Tolentino, who works at a nursing home, was taken to Glenbrook Hospital about 12:30 p.m. Jan. 11 by the Glenview Fire Department because of abdominal pain.

But before requesting the ambulance, Tolentino had locked herself in a bathroom at the nursing home, witnesses told police. Cleaning staff at the nursing home later found a baby boy inside a trash can, tied in a garbage bag, in the bathroom Tolentino had used.

The baby is stable and remains hospitalized, according to police.

A Cook County judge on Friday ordered Tolentino held on $100,000 bail with electronic home monitoring as a condition of bail.

Illinois' Newborn Baby Safe Haven law allows parents to hand over an unharmed baby less than a month old - with no questions asked - to staff members at a hospital, police or fire station. The Save Abandoned Babies Foundation has a 24-hour, confidential hotline at 888-510-BABY (2229).