Mother charged with murder

He came into this world on New Year's Day over a basement toilet and was allegedly taken out of this world shortly thereafter by the young woman who brought him into it.

According to Upper Darby Township investigators, that's the life story of the infant boy found dead in the trunk of a car in Drexel Hill on Jan. 22.

Yesterday, the baby's mother, Drexel University student Mia T. Sardella, 19, surrendered to police and was arraigned on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, abuse of a corpse, concealing the death of a child, and other charges.

"She's surprisingly strong," Sardella's attorney, Arthur Donato Jr., said, "but she's scared. She's never been through anything like this before in her life. I'm sure it's very frightening and upsetting for her."

The autopsy report issued Monday by Delaware County Medical Examiner Dr. Fredric N. Hellman listed the cause of the baby's death as homicide due to asphyxiation.

After her arraignment, Sardella was remanded without bail to the Delaware County Prison, where she was to remain until her bail hearing scheduled for 9 this morning.

Deputy District Attorney Michael Galantino, who will try the case, said yesterday that prosecutors would like Sardella to remain in jail without bail.

However, Donato said he's "hopeful" she will be released on bail.

Sardella's arrest came four months to the day after police were directed to the trunk of her car by Donato, her family's attorney.

The car was parked in front of the home of Sardella's grandfather, Albert E. Piscopo, chief executive of the Glenmede Trust Co., an elite, Philadelphia-based investment firm.

Sardella's relatives, friends and even the father of the baby, a former high-school boyfriend, didn't know she was pregnant, Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said.

When police searched the Drexel Hill home where Sardella lived with her mother, they found "denial of pregnancy" information, police said.

According to an article in the American Journal of Psychiatry, infant murder on the day of birth, also called neonaticide, often follows denial of pregnancy.

Galantino said the baby was born "alive, viable and healthy" but he remained so only "for a few minutes or less."

Through police interviews, investigators learned that Sardella had given birth Jan. 1 in a bathroom in her mother's house.

"Sardella also stated . . . that when she realized the baby was deceased, she put him in a tote bag and placed the bag in the rear of her car," the affidavit said.

After months of speculation, Chitwood held a news conference last week claiming that the autopsy report was complete but was being withheld by prosecutors because of the "socioeconomic" status of Sardella's family.

The D.A.'s office denied the claim.

District Attorney G. Michael Green said one thing that delayed the autopsy report was the three weeks during which the baby's body lay decomposing in the car.

Also delaying the report, he said, was the need for specialists to conduct parts of the autopsy, such as neurological tests.

Yesterday morning, as Chitwood and Green stood side-by-side at a news conference, Chitwood said, "I think I've said enough," but he followed that with, "Anybody who thinks there's not two justice systems in America is a fool."

However, Chitwood lauded the district attorney for his work and said, "at the end of the day, the appropriate charges were filed." *