Wasilla woman charged in death of baby

By Andrew Wellner

Frontiersman

PALMER — A Wasilla woman faces murder charges in Colorado for allegedly wrapping her newborn son in a plastic bag and allowing him to die, and leaving her parents to find his tiny body two months later in their home.

Morgan B. Hite, 22, was arrested earlier this week on a Colorado warrant. Palmer Magistrate David Zwink ordered the 2003 Colony High graduate held without bail Wednesday as officials work to extradite her to Colorado to face first-degree murder and child abuse charges.

“The charges you face are punishable by death in that state,” Zwink said, explaining why he could not set bail for Hite.

Hite was arrested at the Palmer Alaska State Troopers office at 2:55 p.m. Tuesday, troopers report. She was there speaking with investigators from Grand Junction, Colo., who were working with their Alaska counterparts to track down Hite.

Trooper Sgt. Craig Allen said that during the interview, troopers received confirmation of Colorado’s warrant and arrested Hite.

Before Hite can be sent to Colorado, Zwink said prosecutors will need a signed warrant from Gov. Sarah Palin. He said Hite could submit to extradition; Hite declined.

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, quoted in the Grand Junction (Colo.) Daily Sentinel, Hite told investigators she hid her pregnancy from family then gave birth in a bathtub at a neighbor’s home. She wrapped the baby in a plastic bag and hid him in tote bin in the closet where she was staying in Grand Junction with her father and stepmother. The family discovered the baby two months later. Coroner reports indicate the baby was born alive, the Daily Sentinel reports.

Wednesday, Hite sat in yellow prison garb with her back to the viewing gallery where photographers waited to film her. She offered one-word responses to Zwink’s questions. Hite indicated she would like to seek an attorney. Court records examined Thursday list no attorney assigned to Hite in her Alaska case.

The Daily Sentinel reports a probe was launched when officials responded to a report of a child death April 29 at a residence in Grand Junction. Although Colorado authorities suspected from the beginning the child’s death was murder, they needed time to gather evidence, the newspaper reports.

In her statement to investigators, as reported by the Daily Sentinel, Hite said at the time she gave birth, “the baby was blue with white on the hands and feet … the eyes were not open and the baby was not breathing or moving …”

The investigators’ affidavit says, “Morgan stated she couldn’t put the baby in a trash can and just throw it away. Morgan indicated that there is no excuse for what she did, but everything started snowballing and she felt like she couldn’t turn back.”

According to a civil suit filed Wednesday in Palmer, Hite has another child, a 4-year-old girl Hite shares with the girl’s father, Nathan Pokryfki. Pokryfki lives in Wasilla and is suing Hite for full custody of the girl, citing the case as a reason she should be denied custody.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiers-man.com or 352-2270.