Melissa Drexler

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Melissa Drexler, born in 1978, became known as "The Prom Mom" after a tragedy at her high school prom in 1997 in Forked River, New Jersey. She was a senior at Lacey Township High School and had kept her pregnancy secret from the baby’s likely father, John Lewis, as well as her parents and friends.

During the prom on June 6, 1997, Drexler gave birth in a bathroom stall. She pulled the baby from the toilet, placed it in a plastic bag, and threw it into a trash can. It’s believed she severed the umbilical cord on a sanitary napkin dispenser and suffocated the child. A janitor later found the baby in a trash bag after a matron cleaned the stall; emergency workers could not revive the infant. Drexler returned to the dance floor and continued the evening, telling teachers she had a heavy period when asked about the blood.

As part of a plea agreement, Drexler pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter on August 20, 1998, and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. She served a little over three years and was released on parole on November 26, 2001. Drexler came from a middle-class Catholic family and had hoped to pursue a career in fashion.