Five years after the grim discovery of a deceased infant in a suburb of Chicago, a woman has been apprehended and is now facing multiple charges. Natalie E. Schram, identified as the mother, was arrested in Bellingham, Washington, on December 3 and charged with the abuse of a corpse, failure to report the death or disappearance of a child under 13, and two counts of concealment of death, as reported by NBC Chicago. These are all Class 4 felonies that carry with them a weight of legal consequences and societal judgment.
The laden implications of this tragedy unspooled in May 2020 when the infant's remains were discovered in a wooded area on the 1800 block of Robinwood Lane in Riverwoods, a previously quiet corner of suburban Illinois. Schram, previously a resident of the Riverwoods area, had since relocated to Washington State, where her past caught up with her, bringing to a close a lengthy investigation by the Riverwoods police. According to the ABC7 Chicago report, she is expected to confront these charges in a Lake County courtroom.
During her arraignment hearing, Schram entered a plea of not guilty and was released on a $250,000 bond from Whatcom County Jail. She agreed to waive extradition proceedings and will voluntarily present herself to the Lake County courthouse as part of the conditions for her release, a detail also covered by NBC Chicago. The process marks the beginning of a legal journey that will undoubtedly resurrect past emotions and questions surrounding this five-year-old case.
The investigation into the circumstances of the newborn's death remains active, with law enforcement continuing to piece together the sequence of events that led to the tragedy. Police have not closed the door on this case, and are urging the public to provide any additional information that could shed more light on this situation. This ongoing inquiry persists in the hope of ultimately delivering some form of closure to an event that has lingered in the memories of the Riverwoods community for over half a decade.
