Sisters Act

Women abandoning their newborns to the elements is one of those terrible stories we unfortunately hear far too often. When a Brooklyn woman was being questioned by the police yesterday about the discovery of an infant wrapped in a plastic bag on the back porch of her family's home, it sounded like just another tragic but familiar story.

This afternoon, WNBC News began reporting that three sisters in that family are being charged with crimes, related to the homicide death of a baby that was born alive, full term, and died from asphyxiation and hypothermia. 25-year-old Laura Sergio was the mother of the child and is now being charged with murder. Her two older sisters, Andrea (27) and Kara (29), are being charged with improper disposal of a human body and obstruction of governmental administration, respectively.

Laura Sergio's parents took her to Lutheran Medical center at about 9 p.m. Friday, police said. They said she was complaining of stomach pains, but doctors examined her and determined she had recently given birth, then called police.

Officers were directed to the Sergios' home on Colonial Road, where they said she found the unconscious baby at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday. The newborn girl was later pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.

WNBC also said that neighbors on the block in Bay Ridge where the Sergio family live were divided in their reaction, with some expressing sympathy and others outrage.