Chico State University Greek adviser Connie Huyck said members of local sorority Kappa Sigma Delta were struggling Monday to comment officially on the alleged murder of a newborn by its mother, sorority member Gina Rose Grinsell.

President Briana Nagle issued a statement shortly before 8 p.m. Monday on behalf of the sorority, which said its members are "shocked and saddened by the tragedy this past weekend."

"As we try, along with the rest of the community, to understand what happened, our hearts go out to Gina Grinsell, her family and everyone involved," it said.

"We thank our brothers and sisters in the Greek community for their caring and support. We are grateful to them and to the police chaplain service, the university psychological counseling staff and the many students, staff, faculty, community agencies and others who have offered and provided their assistance and support."

It also stated: "Ours is and will continue to be a strong, caring and loving sisterhood."

Grinsell, 20, is being charged with killing her baby, a boy, shortly after giving birth Thursday. Police suspect she choked the newborn, but the official cause of death is pending the findings of an autopsy.

The Butte County Coroner's Office said if the infant had been given a first name, it hasn't been revealed to them.

The mother reportedly told police the baby was born alive.

"By all accounts, she concealed the pregnancy from everyone," Huyck said.

The birth was first suspected when Grinsell went to Immediate Care Medical Center Friday and personnel there called police.

When police arrived at the sorority house in the 300 block of Cedar Street, some of Grinsell's sorority sisters had just discovered the baby, which she placed into a plastic bag.

"Those who knew Gina find this difficult to understand. They're dealing with a variety of emotions," Huyck said.

She said counselors talked with sorority members and friends of the woman over the weekend and are still available on a 24-hour basis, if needed.

Kappa Sigma Delta has just five members and Huyck said she believed the young women have private bedrooms inside a home the sorority has rented on Cedar Street since last fall.

The sorority was formed at Chico State in October 1993.

Grinsell's parents traveled to Chico to be with her over the weekend. Huyck said she didn't know if the parents had knowledge of the pregnancy.

Huyck usually advises national and regionally chartered fraternities and sororities, but said she returned early from a Greek Leadership Conference in the Bay Area to assist the sorority.

She said the tragedy is the only case she knows of a sorority member allegedly taking the life of her child.