Purple Ribbons in Bayonne from Planck's Constant

Murder is so unlikely in my hometown, Bayonne NJ, that it's practically inconceivable.

The Jersey Journal, May 1 2007,
MOM JAILED
A 19-year-old Bayonne woman has been charged with murdering her newborn girl, who was found in a plastic storage container in her home Sunday after being strangled and beaten to death Friday, officials said.

Rocio Leon, 19, of East 22nd Street, was originally charged Sunday with aggravated assault, child abuse and endangering the welfare of a child, but an autopsy performed yesterday resulted in the charges being upgraded to murder, said Hudson County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.
...
Leon had apparently kept her pregnancy secret from her family.

"I'm shocked - I didn't know she was pregnant," said Leon's brother, Jesus Leon, 22, yesterday, adding that his parents also did not know she was pregnant.

The Bayonne High School senior has a 20-month-old daughter, Sheyla, with an absent father and she was going through hard times, Jesus Leon said.

"She got into a little argument with my mother and (my mom) told her if she had another baby, (my mom) would throw (Rocio) out of the house," said Jesus Leon. "I think she just panicked."

If you ride through the city today you will see purple ribbons decked out all over the place. Bayonne is one of the safest cities in the country so when something horrific does happen it hits the front page of our local paper. The girl lives only a few blocks east of my home. Callous, stupid, and barbaric acts like this should not be happening in a civilized country. She is already a drain on our society by having a fatherless child, and unfortunately all her parents can do is warn her not to get pregnant.

What we really need are some strictly enforced sterilization laws for young women who cannot be responsible with their bodies. If we lived in the jungle perhaps we wouldn't care, just another baby to feed to the lions, but these are the children that will grow up to commit the majority of crimes and breed more of their kind. And by kind I do not mean Hispanic, although she is one, I mean trash, whatever the race or ethnic origin.

Normally I would blame it on our school system, but I do not know how many years she attended American schools.