Woman who left baby in box to faces attempted murder charge

A 33-year-old woman who police said left her newborn daughter in a cardboard box on a street right before Christmas will be charged with attempted murder, police said Wednesday.

A warrant has been issued for Patricia Crawley, who police said had multiple addresses and also goes by the names "Dina" and "Alisha Bogan." Police asked for the public's help in finding her.

"We would prefer that she turn herself in," said Philadelphia Capt. John Darby of the Special Victims Unit.

Crawley is 5-feet-5 and weighs about 160 pounds. She has a previous address on Gillingham Street in Frankford, and is known to frequent the area of 26th Street and Lehigh Avenue, police said. She has a history of arrests, records show, including theft and assault.

Police said Crawley has at least one other child, but did not provide details. Darby said the Department of Health and Human Services was investigating.

The infant, who is in foster care, was discovered Dec. 21 on the 2500 block of North 27th Street in the Strawberry Mansion section. An employee of a nearby church heard cries coming from the box and found the infant wrapped in a blanket.

The baby was rushed to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where doctors determined she was about five hours old. She spent 10 days in neonatal intensive care.

"This child was in danger of dying had she not been found," said Darby, who noted that temperatures that day dropped to about 40 degrees. "The situation was precarious."

After asking for the public's help, police got tips regarding several women, Darby said. All were checked out except Crawley, Darby said.

Investigators tracked her down on Jan. 4, Darby said. She denied any knowledge of the baby, but police took a DNA sample.

This week, Darby said, the results came back as a match.

Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or asteele@phillynews.com.