A terribly sad story about an 18-year-old volleyball player at Mercyhurst College, who gave birth to a baby girl in a dormitory bathroom, which died a few minutes later, has dominated headlines and news reports in Erie, Pa., in recent days.

An autopsy showed the baby was nearly full term when the player, who authorities did not identify, gave birth in her apartment Sunday afternoon, according to news reports.

Even though the teenager's identity was revealed on Erie TV stations, the Erie Times-News did not give her name in stories in today's editions. The newspaper's editors decided against listing the woman's name in case the baby had died as the result of a miscarriage.

Now that Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk has ruled the death a homicide, the woman's name will be listed in stories in Wednesday's Times-News.

Several readers called to ask the editors why the teenager's name was withheld. One reader sent an e-mail message expressing a wish to "raise the conscientiousness of those who chose to highlight the dire misery of a child (only 18 years old) in the worst possible travail of her life." The writer was apparently upset that the teenager's name was broadcast on TV reports about the incident.

The sentiments of her message are quite touching, and anyone with an ounce of compassion would have a difficult time disagreeing with her call for understanding. But now that the baby's death has been ruled a homicide, the case becomes public. That doesn't make it any less tragic, of course, and my heart goes out to the teenager and her family. But the death of the baby is also tragic.

This is a story that has the people of Erie buzzing. At a soccer game Monday night, several adults spoke about the pressures on today's college student-athletes. They lamented the awful feelings of loneliness they said the young woman must have felt. This sad news story will likely be dissected in the coming days by news reporters in all segments of the media.

Send me your comments about this story. Let me know how you feel and what you think the responsibilities of the Times-News are in this case.

-- Kevin Cuneo