The Latest: Comatose woman gave birth to boy, attorney says

The Latest on a woman in a vegetative state at a Phoenix care facility who recently gave birth (all times local):

11:35 p.m.

An attorney representing the family of a comatose woman who has been living at a private care facility in Phoenix says she gave birth to a boy.

The woman has been a resident of Hacienda HealthCare in central Phoenix for more than a decade after a near-drowning. The woman is a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

In a statement Tuesday, Phoenix attorney John Micheaels says the woman’s family is outraged and shocked by the abuse and neglect of their daughter.

Micheaels says the boy was born into a loving family and will be well cared for.

He says the family is aware of the intense public interest in the case but is not prepared emotionally to speak about it.

6:30 p.m.

A female patient in a vegetative state at a Phoenix private care facility who recently gave birth has been identified as a member of the San Carlos Apache Tribe.

In a statement Tuesday night, tribal officials say the 29-year-old woman has been in vegetative state and coma for more than a decade. They also say she was still in a coma when she gave birth.

The woman’s name was redacted from the tribal statement, and there was no information about the gender or status of the baby.

Tribal chairman Terry Rambler said he was “deeply shocked and horrified at the treatment of one of our members.”

San Carlos Apache Police Chief Alejandro Benally says Phoenix police “will do all they can to find the perpetrator.”

A spokesman for Hacienda HealthCare says investigators served a search warrant Tuesday to obtain DNA samples from all male staffers.

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5:20 p.m.

Phoenix police are pursuing DNA samples from every male employee at a private care facility where a patient in a vegetative state recently gave birth.

A spokesman for Hacienda HealthCare says investigators served a search warrant Tuesday to obtain DNA from all male staffers.

Officials say they are committed to cooperating with the police to “uncover the facts in this deeply disturbing, but unprecedented situation.”

A woman living at a Hacienda HealthCare facility in central Phoenix reportedly delivered a baby last month.

Local news website Azfamily.com first reported that the woman had been in a vegetative state for more than a decade after a near-drowning and that no workers were aware she was pregnant.

Police have declined to comment on the investigation.

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8 a.m.

The CEO of a private health care facility in Phoenix has resigned following reports that a patient gave birth despite being in a vegetative state for more than a decade.

A spokesman for Hacienda HealthCare says Bill Timmons announced his resignation Monday and it was unanimously accepted by the facility’s board of directors.

A female patient living at a Hacienda HealthCare facility reportedly gave birth Dec. 29 although the staff was unaware the woman was pregnant.

The birth triggered a police investigation and reviews by state agencies. Gov. Doug Ducey’s office has called the situation “deeply troubling.”

Phoenix police say the matter is under investigation and decline further comment.

A Hacienda board member says the facility “will accept nothing less than a full accounting of this absolutely horrifying situation.”

Sourse: abcnews.go.com