Teen accused of poisoning infant

NEWBURYPORT, Mass. (WHDH) - A teen mother is being held without bail after she was accused of poisoning the child of another young mother.

A home for pregnant and parenting teens in Newburyport, Massachusetts the scene of the crime, according to police.

“It’s alleged that a juvenile female with a young child that was at the establishment had taken a substance and added it to the formula of another female’s child out there,” said Thomas Howard, city marshal of the Newburyport Police Department.

The sick child was rushed to Anna Jaques Hospital where the little boy was treated and released, but the teenage suspect detectives were looking for was nowhere to be found.

"The one that had allegedly done the poisoning had left the home and had run away and it was after she left the home that they realized what had actually happened there," said Howard.

Sources reported the teen moms, both under the age of 17, had been at the home for less than a year and that a cleaning product used in the facility was the poison allegedly added to the baby formula.

Police said they have a few motives but won’t talk about them yet.

The Department of Children and Families is also involved in the investigation.

The teen suspect was caught in Cambridge and is expected to appear in juvenile court next week.