A newborn baby’s body was left in a tote bag at a Grand Junction home nearly two months leading up to its discovery by the mother’s parents on April 29, according to allegations in an arrest warrant affidavit.

Morgan Hite, 22, of Wasilla, Alaska, claimed her infant boy died in utero while visiting her father and stepmother in Grand Junction.

Chief Deputy Mesa County Coroner Dr. Robert Kurtzman concluded the baby was born alive and ruled the death as homicide.

Hite was arrested Tuesday at an Alaska State Trooper substation in Palmer on a Grand Junction police warrant for first-degree murder and child abuse resulting in death. She's scheduled for a bond hearing this afternoon.

Hite’s arrest warrant was unsealed by a judge Wednesday morning.

According to the affidavit, Morgan Hite is daughter of Chris Hite and stepdaughter of Stacy Hite, who live at 868 Grand Vista Way.

The parents called 911 the morning of April 29 after finding a plastic tote bag inside a closet in a spare bedroom.

Stacy found plastic bags inside the tote.

“She then opened the plastic bags to find a decaying corpse of an infant and bloody green towel,” the affidavit said.

Morgan Hite and her 4-year-old daughter had been visiting from Feb. 24 to April 3 — the mother and child used the spare bedroom.

Chris and Stacy Hite told detectives Morgan had told them she’d given birth on Feb. 18 in Alaska and put the child up for adoption.

Despite the claim, the parents believed Morgan looked about “six months pregnant” when she arrived.

Morgan Hite complained she was bleeding heavily and cramping soon after arriving in Grand Junction.

Morgan left the home the morning of Feb. 25 when a maid arrived to clean. Morgan went to a neighbor’s house, where she was seen wearing a towel after taking a shower.

That night, she went shopping with Stacy Hite.

“Upon arriving home, Stacy Hite found blood on the seat of their 2006 black Dodge Charger, where Morgan had been sitting,” the affidavit said.

Interviewed by Grand Junction detectives in Alaska on May 2, Morgan said she knew two men who might have been the child’s father, but knew she couldn’t afford a second child and tried to have an abortion while in Alaska.

She said she went to the Women’s Health Clinic in Anchorage, where she was refused. An ultrasound showed she was 15 1/2 weeks along — she believed she had gotten pregnant in May 2007.

“Due to their requirement that an abortion is performed under 14 weeks in Alaska, the clinic told Morgan they were unable to perform the abortion,” the affidavit said.

The date of the clinic visit isn't spelled out in the affidavit.

“Morgan indicated she decided to keep the pregnancy hidden as she was going to give the child up for adoption and didn’t want anybody to know.”

She said she didn’t seek medical attention or take prenatal vitamins during the pregnancy.

She said she awoke early Feb. 25 in Grand Junction experiencing contractions and discharge associated with the last month of her pregnancy.

When Stacy Hite left with a neighbor to work out that morning, she said she went to the neighbor's home.

She said she went into labor there in the bathtub.

The baby “wasn’t moving” during the delivery, she said.

“She indicated the eyes were not open and the baby was not breathing or moving as it did not make any grunting noises and no crying,” the affidavit said.

She said she didn’t do anything to stimulate the child, check its pulse, or clear the baby’s mouth or nose. She didn’t tell anyone.

“Morgan indicated that though she knew her mother had arrived, she did not seek assistance as she had already told a big lie and there was no turning back,” the affidavit said.

Stacy Hite had knocked on the bathroom door. Morgan told Stacy she was bleeding and having cramps and wanted to take a bath before returning to the Hite home.

Morgan said Stacy brought over a change of clothes and a plastic bag and left the items outside the bathroom. Stacy and Morgan’s 4-year-old daughter went back home to wait for Morgan.

“She rinsed out the tub and subsequently walked across the street to the Hite residence carrying the two plastic trash bags but is unaware if anyone saw her walking across the street carrying the items,” the affidavit said.

At the Hite home, Morgan said she retrieved a rubber tote that held satellite TV equipment, removed the gear, and placed the baby inside.

She placed the tote in a closet in her bedroom.

“She never open the tote again,” the affidavit said.

She said she took another shower and continued her day and the visit, which later included a snow boarding trip and another trip to Colorado Springs for hockey games.

She said she felt leaving the body in the tote bag was preferable to leaving it in a trash can.

“Morgan indicated that there is no excuse for what she did but everything started snowballing and she felt like she couldn’t turn back.”

Reach Paul Shockley at pshockley@gjfreepress.com