ADAMS COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — The family of a one-month-old baby, found abandoned in a median on a busy Adams County street on Christmas morning, shared their heartache in an exclusive interview with FOX31.
The baby, a boy named Xion, was discovered around 9:20 a.m. on Wednesday after a 911 call was made by a passerby. The person reported seeing the baby in a car seat, wearing only a diaper, in the median near 7490 Pecos St. The location is near a busy intersection with U.S. Highway 36.
According to the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, deputies arrested the baby’s parents, Jarvis Sims, 42, and Christina Thurman, 33. The couple is facing felony child abuse charges in connection with the incident.
Thurman’s family shared that Xion tested positive for cocaine and was in the care of his father at the time of the abandonment, following a domestic dispute on Christmas morning.
“We were so ready for this baby to have his first Christmas, the greatest Christmas… That’s what the first Christmas is, the greatest time. We didn’t even get that, it got stolen from us,” said Destiny Aguirre, Thurman’s cousin and Xion’s godmother. “It’s hurtful. What if he had died? You leave him in the street like that? So he could die slowly in the cold? That’s not right.”
Under Colorado’s Safe Haven law, parents can legally leave newborns at fire stations within three days of birth without facing charges. Safe Haven Baby Boxes, an organization advocating for safe baby surrenders, has been pushing for an extension of the law to 30 days and for the use of baby boxes as an alternative to face-to-face drop-offs.
Monica Kelsey, of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, explained the challenges some parents face in seeking help. “We want to help these parents, but some of them are afraid. They don’t want to go inside because they know they might be talked out of a decision they’ve spent so long making,” Kelsey said.
Unfortunately, Xion was over a month old, so the Safe Haven law did not apply in this case. However, Thurman’s family has confirmed that Xion is now in the care of Child Protective Services (CPS) and is expected to recover.
“We’re doing everything we can to get the baby back. He belongs with family. Her other three kids are here with us, so why can’t the baby be too? Any one of us would take him in and make sure he’s where he belongs, with his family,” said April Aragon, Thurman’s mother. “It’s my grandbaby’s first Christmas with a stranger. It’s just not fair.”
As the investigation continues, Xion remains in CPS custody, and the family hopes to bring him home soon.
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