Shannon Noelle Jones 

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A Lancaster County woman accused of endangering her teen daughter with an unsupervised, late-term abortion and then helping to bury the baby boy’s body has waived her preliminary hearing, prosecutors said on Wednesday, Aug. 6.

Shannon Noelle Jones, 50, of East Donegal Township, will face trial in county court on charges of Endangering the Welfare of Children, Corruption of Minors, and Conspiracy to Conceal the Death of a Child.

Jones allegedly purchased abortion medication online for her then-17-year-old daughter despite knowing the girl was too far along in her pregnancy to qualify for a legal procedure. Authorities say the pills are not approved for use after 10 weeks of gestation due to the significant danger they pose to the mother. The teen was estimated to be around 20 weeks pregnant when she took them.

After giving birth at home on May 10, 2024, the teen allegedly kept the baby’s body in a box under her bed for nearly two days. She and her mother later buried him in the backyard of their home on the 100 block of Village Square Drive, police said.

According to court records and investigators, the two attempted to hide the pregnancy and death from Jones’ husband and others. In text messages obtained by detectives, Jones admitted she was “paranoid” and feared she’d either be arrested or divorced.

The case broke open in March 2025, when a witness gave Susquehanna Regional Police pictures of the newborn and screenshots of messages sent by the teen. In them, she described the baby as “still moving” and having “fingernails” and “lips,” and included a photo of the body in a white trash bag.

A forensic exam by the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office determined the baby—referred to in the case as “Baby Boy Jones”—was 20 weeks and 6 days gestational age. Due to advanced decomposition, the coroner could not determine whether the baby was born alive, and the cause of death was listed as “extreme prematurity prior to viability.” No homicide charges were filed as a result.

Jones remains free on her own recognizance. Her daughter, now 18, is being prosecuted in the juvenile system for Concealing the Death of a Child and Abuse of Corpse

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Fritz Haverstick. Charges were filed by Susquehanna Regional Police Detective Laurel Bair.