By Emma Koonse, Christian Post
A woman studying to become a Catholic nun in D.C. is being charged with murder after smothering her newborn son to death earlier this month.
Sosefina Amoa claimed she was unaware of the pregnancy before she delivered a baby boy on Oct. 10 at the Little Sisters of the Poor elderly care facility, according to ABC7.
The 26-year-old said “heard the child cry for two to three minutes” before worrying that someone would hear, and so she covered the baby’s mouth with a wool garment, causing his suffocation.
Police say that Amoa smothered the 6-pound, 2-ounce child in fear that nuns would hear his cries and realize that she lied about sexual activity, according to The Washington Post.
After realizing the he was no longer breathing, Amoa “wrapped the child in Samoan garb, placed the child on her bed … remained in her room until the next morning,” ABC7 reported.
One day after his arrival, the 26-year-old mother and a nun took the infant’s body to the hospital in a small black luggage bag.
On Wednesday, Samoa was charged with first-degree murder after the child’s death was ruled a homicide.
“We all feel this is a very tragic situation,” said Sister Constance Veit in a statement, the Daily Mail reported. “We are just praying for everyone involved. Now that it is in the hands of the legal system, we will not be providing any further comment.”
Amoa arrived to D.C.’s Little Sisters of the Poor order from the Pacific island of Somoa, on Oct. 5. She had been considered a postulant- someone in the process of being admitted to the order of nuns, and she had “began Religious Formation, which included religious classes, doctrine and prayer life,” according to the arrest warrant.
However, Amoa will face arraignment for her crime on D.C. Superior Court following her hospital care, The Washington Post reported.
Many questions as to Amoa’s arrival and acceptance to the convent remain unanswered and an investigation is ongoing.
