Man and woman arrested after newborn baby with umbilical cord was found dumped in dustbin

Sunday, March 17, 2024 – A man and woman have been arrested after a newborn baby boy was found dead in a bin.

The woman, believed to be the infant’s mum, is charged with failure to report a death over the shocking incident in South Florida, USA in January.

Her co-accused faces an identical charge along with the illegal disposal of a body.

The full-term baby boy, with umbilical cord still attached, was found on January 7 by a roofing company worker who had noticed a foul odour outside an apartment complex.

He found the baby in a reusable shopping bag inside the trash bin, and notified police, according to a Hollywood police affidavit.

Police used video surveillance to track down the owner of a car that stopped beside the trash bin, and later used text messages between the man and woman, along with DNA samples taken from the shopping bag, to track down the mother.

An autopsy found the baby had no signs of trauma or injury, according to the affidavit.

The final cause of death is pending further testing to determine whether the baby was born alive or stillborn, the affidavit said.