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No charges filed in case of fetus found in freezer

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Lee County officials will not file charges in the case of a stillborn fetus with traces of cocaine in its system that was found in a freezer in January.
 
The Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports that the state attorney's office said Thursday it's unclear who put the fetus in the freezer and no charges can be filed against an expectant mother for passing cocaine to an unborn child.
 
Jessica Smallwood, 27, was taken to the hospital, where she initially denied delivering a child. A search warrant led to the discovery of a third-trimester female fetus packed inside a garbage bag in a freezer in the home's garage.
 
The death was originally investigated as a homicide. But the medical examiner says the death was a natural stillbirth.