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Medical Examiner: Death Of Fetus Found In Shopping Bag Last Fall Was Homicide

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The death of a fetus found in a shopping bag at the Herald Square Victoria's Secret last fall has been ruled a homicide.

The New York City Medical Examiner's office ruled Tuesday that the cause of death for the fetus was asphyxia, and the manner of death was a homicide.

On Oct. 17 of last year, a Victoria's Secret security guard stopped 17-year-old Tiona Rodriguez, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and a friend on suspicion of shoplifting at the Herald Square store. The guard found the dead fetus in a shopping bag.

The teen had told officers she was carrying the child's remains because she had delivered a day earlier and didn't know what to do, authorities said in October.

Rodriguez was also hit with a shoplifting charge the day the fetus was found. There was no word late Tuesday on whether the charges could be upgraded, authorities told CBS 2.

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