18-year-old held on attempted murder charges after giving birth in tub

Sarah White's parents and siblings suspected she was pregnant, but the 18-year-old denied it for nine months.

About 8 a.m. on April 3, she gave birth to a girl while squatting in the tub of her parents' upstairs bathroom.

On June 11, Henderson police arrested her on charges of attempted murder and child abuse and neglect.

White's mother found her daughter hiding behind the shower curtain when she opened the locked bathroom door in April.

Blood was all over the bathroom, according to White's arrest report.

A white kitchen trash bag was in the tub with her. The newborn, purple and unresponsive, was inside the bag.

White's father, a trained career paramedic, ran up the stairs at the house on Camino Vista Street, near Horizon Ridge Parkway and Arroyo Grande Boulevard. He used CPR to resuscitate the baby.

White told police she used a kitchen knife to try to cut the umbilical cord, but the cord was too tough. She set the baby down, cleaned her and brought the baby's face to her chest, according to the report.

She told police she never noticed the baby change color or stop crying.

The baby girl survived, though she was suffering from hypothermia and an infection when she was hospitalized.

According to a disclosure form filed with the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services, the parents of the infant decided to relinquish their rights and place the baby up for adoption.

When detectives asked White what she would have done with the baby if her mother hadn't found her, she responded, "I have no idea."