CITIZEN STAFF REPORT

CAMPTON — A Campton woman is facing a first-degree fetal homicide charge following a reported abortion and the burial of a fetus on her Wolfe County property.

According to the Kentucky State Police, United Clinic in Campton alerted Post 8 around 2:30 p.m. Dec. 31 after a woman at the facility allegedly disclosed that she had terminated a pregnancy at her residence on Flat Mary Road.

Troopers and detectives responded to the clinic and interviewed Melinda S. Spencer, 35, of Campton.

Police said Spencer told investigators she had ordered abortion medication online Dec. 26 and used it at her home, with the abortion occurring the following day.

The KSP said the medication resulted in the death of what they described as a “developed male infant.”

According to investigators, Spencer told police she buried the fetus in a shallow grave on the backside of her property.

Troopers and detectives obtained a search warrant for the residence in the 3700 block of Flat Mary Road, where they located the remains in a shallow grave consistent with Spencer’s statement.

The arrest report states the fetus’s remains were wrapped in a white cloth.

Investigators said Spencer stated during an interview at an area hospital that she became pregnant by someone other than her significant other and did not want him to know.

As a result of the investigation, Spencer is facing charges of first-degree fetal homicide, abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence.

She is in the Three Forks Regional Jail, whererecords show she is also facing a charge of first-degree promoting contraband.

Editor’s note: All individuals are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.