For the first time, a woman accused of abandoning her baby on a doorstep appears in court.

Lexington police charged Ashley Stephens back in July, after a woman found a day-old-baby in a laundry basket outside her home.

She is charged with abandonment of a minor.

On Wednesday morning, Stephens attempted to have the case waived to the grand jury without her client having to show up in person, but the judge would not allow it.

He ruled that despite the high-profile nature of the case, Stephens had to show her face.

After Stephens made her appearance, the judge waved the case to the grand jury. It will be up to jurors to decide if the case warrants criminal charges.

Stephens did not comment after her court appearance. She was escorted out of a side door very quickly following the proceedings.