OMAHA, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- The mother of nine children who were left at a Nebraska hospital by their father, died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 2007, authorities have determined.
The unidentified man, 34, left the children, ages 20 months to 17, at Omaha's Creighton University Medical Center Wednesday night. The man, who had a history of unemployment and financial difficulties, will not be charged due to Nebraska's "safe haven" law, officials said.
The father told an Omaha police officer he could no longer care for his children, the newspaper said.
The children's mother died of a spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage in February 2007, a little more than one month after giving birth to the couple's 10th child, the Omaha World-Herald reported Thursday.
The oldest child, 18, was not left at the hospital with the others. The others have been placed in foster care while court officials consider the matter.
Nebraska lawmakers said they might seek to clarify the law, intended to protect newborn children if a parent is overwhelmed.
Nebraska's law, which took effect in July, sets no age limit on children who can be left at hospitals, suggesting children up to age 19 can be abandoned with no parental penalties, the newspaper said.
In the week-and-a-half before Wednesday, at least two teens and one preteen were dropped off at eastern Nebraska hospitals, the newspaper said.
