A severely malnourished six-month-old baby girl is fighting for her life after being discovered in a duffel bag inside a wardrobe in her mother's flat in Karpinsk, Russia. The child, named Katya, was airlifted 270 miles to a hospital in Yekaterinburg, where she remains in intensive care.
According to Russian media reports, the baby had been living off water and scraps of food secretly provided by her older brother since her birth in April. The mother, 37-year-old Yulia, allegedly hoped the baby would die from starvation, reported local news outlet Krasnoturyinsk Live.
The discovery was made during a birthday party for Yulia's son, when a guest heard a muted cry and found the baby in a bag inside a wardrobe. The mother had kept the birth secret, and no baby food, clothes, or cot were found in the flat.
Police spokesman Valery Gorelykh said officers responded to a tip-off and found the starving child. The mother has been detained and a criminal case opened for 'torturing' the child, which carries a sentence of up to seven years in prison. She is undergoing a psychiatric examination.
The baby is the result of an affair with a married man after Yulia's marriage breakdown. Her son, who had been secretly feeding his sister, was allegedly threatened by his mother not to reveal the baby's existence.
