Proper burial sought for baby flushed down Whataburger toilet

SAN ANTONIO - Nearly three weeks after Bexar County deputies arrested a woman accused of trying to flush her newborn baby down the toilet in a Whataburger bathroom, a child advocate is seeking custody of the baby girl's remains to provide her with a proper burial.

"We're hoping and praying that we get custody," said Pamela Allen of the nonprofit Eagles Flight Advocacy. "The fact that her mother is being incarcerated waiting to see if any more criminal charges are going to be brought against her, this baby needs a burial."

The shocking discovery took place Dec. 18 at the Whataburger location near Walzem Rd. and FM 78 in Northeast Bexar County.

Mallori Strait, 33, is currently charged with abuse of a corpse and remains locked up in the special needs unit of the Bexar County jail on a $100,000 bond.

"We are waiting to see if the mom is going to be deemed incompetent, and then we have a window of opportunity to be able to get her," said Allen, who has helped bury more than 60 babies over the past decade. "These little ones don't deserve a trash can, a toilet, a piece of luggage at the side of the highway. They don't deserve that final resting place."

According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Strait entered the restaurant’s bathroom around 2 a.m. and remained there for several hours. "The Whataburger manager continually checked on (Strait), due to her making noises inside of the stall," the affidavit states, describing how the manager gave Strait water before telling her she needed to leave. Eventually, the manager called 911 "out of concern for her welfare," and that's when the manager noticed a portion of the baby's body when she looked into the bathroom stall.

A member of the Converse Fire Department removed the baby from the toilet, later telling deputies that he had to "physically grab" the baby and pull the baby to “remove the body from the inside of the ‘U trap’ of the drain on the toilet.” The first responder then took the baby to an ambulance and had to "cut the child out of the amniotic sack and began life-saving measures."

When questioned by first responders, Strait told them, "I'm sorry, I’m not selfish," according to the affidavit.

Emergency crews took Strait and the baby to Metropolitan Methodist Hospital on McCullough Ave., where a doctor pronounced the baby dead on arrival, determining the girl to be around 30 weeks fetal age.

"28 to 30 weeks means the third trimester of pregnancy, where your baby is rapidly gaining weight, developing mature organs, and getting ready for birth," the affidavit explains.

The medical examiner's office is now working to confirm the baby's cause and manner of death.

Strait has a court appearance scheduled for Feb. 20.