Pregnant woman eats poison, is charged with murder after baby dies

A pregnant Indiana woman who allegedly tried to commit suicide by eating rat poison last December is being charged with murder and feticide after the baby died a few days later, according to police.

Indianapolis police Officer Catherine Cummings said Tuesday that detectives arrested 34-year-old old Bei Bei Shuai, who surrendered Monday with help from her lawyer.

Shuai's attorney, Linda Pence, said the charges are not only unwarranted, but they could prevent other troubled mothers from seeking the help they need, according to the Indianapolis Star Tribune.

David Rimstidt, chief deputy to Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry, said the case was unique but the charges were appropriate given the facts, the paper reported.

Police say Shuai told friends in Anderson that she swallowed rat poison on Dec. 23. The friends took her to a hospital in Anderson, and she was transferred to a hospital in Indianapolis, where she gave birth Dec. 31. Angel Shuai died Jan. 2.

Shuai is currently being held without bond, but Pence told the Star Tribune she plans to ask the judge to dismiss the charges and allow her client to bond out.