Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced a guilty plea Monday in a homicide case from 2017 in North Whitehall Township.

Ashley Caraballo, 32, pleaded no contest Monday to charges of murder of the third-degree, a felony of the first degree; concealing the death of a child, a misdemeanor of the first degree; and abuse of a corpse, a misdemeanor of the second degree. The agreement calls for a cap on the possible sentence of 6 to 12 years.

Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 11.

On Oct. 20, 2017, Caraballo was taken to an area hospital with heavy vaginal bleeding that required surgery. During the course of the surgery, a doctor determined that Caraballo had recently given birth and the damage was consistent with a baby being “ripped out” when the cervix was not fully dilated.

The defendant denied that she had been pregnant or had recently given birth. An investigation by Pennsylvania State Police found a deceased male baby in a Mauser Street home where Caraballo and her family were living. The infant’s body was found wrapped in a sheet inside a backpack. The backpack was discovered in a five-gallon paint can that was located in a storage area in the basement of the residence.

The plea agreement takes into consideration that several medical experts have conflicting opinions about whether the baby was born alive or not.