Psych Exam Ordered For Mom Accused Of Leaving Baby On Subway Platform

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A young mother accused of abandoning her infant on a New York City subway platform has been ordered to undergo a psychiatric exam to see whether she's mentally fit for court.

A judge ordered the evaluation Wednesday for Frankea Dabbs, who is charged with child abandonment and acting in a manner injurious to a child less than 17.

Video captured the 20-year-old from North Carolina with the baby in a stroller moments before she allegedly pushed the stroller onto the 59th Street-Columbus Circle No. 1 train platform from a departing train on July 7. Dabbs then continued on with the train, police said.

Meanwhile, little Mylanea Love Edmund was left behind on the platform – still strapped into her red and white stroller and holding a bottle, police said.

Another woman found the baby girl alone on the platform and waited for someone to return. When no one did, she told a subway worker who called police.

Police have said Dabbs told detectives she was homeless and the baby's father had died. She told police she couldn't care for the infant and felt the platform was a safe, public place to leave her.

"She felt she couldn't take care of the baby and thought she was leaving her in a safe public space," said NYPD spokesman Stephen Davis.

The 10-month-old girl is under child welfare authorities' care.

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