10 May: The Lady Who Left Her Baby Outside
As Annette Sorensen drank margaritas in a New York BBQ restaurant on May 10th, 1997, she left her 14 month-old daughter outside, in a stroller.
She spent two days in jail, was accused of child neglect, and was separated from her baby for four days. But Sorensen, a Danish visitor to the States, claimed she was following Scandinavian norms, and tried to sue for $20m.
In this episode, Olly, Rebecca and Arion examine whether leaving your baby outside in the street really IS a Danish custom, consider the culture clash between Copenhagen and NYC, and confess the weirdest places they’ve left their own children…
Further reading:
• The AP films Sorensen’s (first) court appearance:
• The New York Times covers the story in 1997:
• 20 years after the case, Annette Sorensen speaks to The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/nov/26/anette-sorenson-denmark-new-york-baby-left-outside