She's gone from accused shoplifter to suspected murderer.
Teen mom Tiona Rodriguez, who had a dead fetus in her bag when she was busted for swiping lingerie at the Victoria's Secret store in Herald Square, faces a possible homicide charge, sources said Friday.
The startling development came after an
autopsy revealed that the 17-year-old suspect's baby boy was born alive, at full term--and died of asphyxiation, the sources said.
Rodriguez, who already has a 2-year-old son, was taken to Bellevue Hospital after she was arrested Thursday and is believed to still be there under police watch. She told cops she had suffered a miscarriage Wednesday.
Security guards at the store made the gruesome discovery after they confronted Rodriguez and pal Francis Estevez, 17, about possible shoplifting and noticed a strong odor. As police were cuffing the teens, guards searching Rodriguez' bags for stolen sexy undergarments found a black plastic bag and the dead baby.
Rodriguez lived in the Marcy Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Police were searching the apartment where she lived with her mom and child.