Police found a newborn baby girl dead at Cardinal Gardens Apartments, an off-campus student housing complex near the University of Southern California (USC) campus, authorities said. Authorities identified the infant as a 19-hour-old full-term girl, and the cause of death remains under review.
What happened at Cardinal Gardens Apartments?
On Monday, October 27, 2025, dispatch sent emergency first responders to the 3100 block of McClintock Avenue after LAPD officers discovered the newborn and pronounced her dead at the scene. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed the child’s age at about 19 hours and said the cause of death remains “undetermined” pending further investigation.
Reports say that hours earlier, emergency responders treated a 20-year-old woman for breathing difficulties at the same Cardinal Gardens complex.
Authorities transported the woman to the hospital around 6 p.m., according to dispatch and media reports. Authorities have not publicly tied that patient to the infant as a confirmed parent; investigators continue to piece together the timeline.
The mother and father’s identity
As of the most recent updates, LAPD detectives have not publicly identified the child’s mother or father. The department has classified the matter as an active investigation and asked anyone with information to contact the LAPD. USC has referred inquiries to the police.
Campus reaction
The discovery prompted concern among students and residents near the USC campus. Local student outlets emphasized that Cardinal Gardens is USC-owned off-campus housing.
Social media and community forums also carried posts from students and neighbors, including a thread on the USC subreddit where users expressed shock and sympathy and raised questions about on-campus support for students dealing with pregnancy or medical emergencies.
The Laken Snelling case
Another similar case occurred recently in late August 2025, when police in Lexington, Kentucky, discovered the body of a newborn baby boy inside a trash bag at an off-campus residence on Park Avenue. Investigators say the infant, believed to have been born full term, was found wrapped in a towel and placed in a closet.
Police arrested the child’s mother, 21-year-old University of Kentucky student Laken Snelling, several days later and charged her with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and concealing the birth of an infant. She has since withdrawn from the university and is under home incarceration at her parents’ home in Tennessee.
Snelling has pleaded not guilty to all charges. In late September, she appeared in Fayette County District Court and waived her right to a preliminary hearing, sending the case directly to a grand jury for review this fall.
