INFANT BOY - Newborn - Houston, TX

CPS taking custody of baby found in apartment trash

By Anita Hassan, Dale Lezon | February 25, 2014 | Updated: February 25, 2014 10:33pm



The whimper coming from the dumpster outside building 25 caught Carlos Michel's ear Tuesday morning. It sounded like an animal dying, maybe a kitten, but he couldn't tell for sure.

As the sounds grew louder, the maintenance worker felt certain that whatever was making the noises was struggling.

Seconds later, Michel, 51, reached into the blue dumpster and, hunched over, grabbed a white trash bag. He placed the bag on the ground, ripping it open to find the source - a newborn boy, stuffed among trash and discarded school work. His tiny face and hands were purple, his umbilical cord still attached, his body cold. His soft cries were the only indication he was still alive.

"I almost had a heart attack," Michel said.

He discovered the baby about 8:30 a.m. at The Reserve at Windmill Lakes apartment complex, 9988 Windmill Lakes Boulevard, just west of Almeda Mall.

Paramedics arrived to take the boy to Memorial Hermann Hospital, where he was reported to be in good condition.

Investigators later located and interviewed the newborn's 16-year-old mother, who admitted putting the baby in the dumpster, said Houston Police Department spokesman Victor Senties. Police released few additional details and said nothing about what may have led the teen to abandon her newborn.

The mother, who police said attended South Houston High School, was taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital in Pearland. Once she has been released from the hospital, investigators will speak with officials at the Harris County District Attorney's Office to determine what, if any, charges will be filed, Senties said.

Child Protective Services officials said the agency will take custody of the baby.

"It was a shock to find a human being inside a trash bag," said Michel. He sat in a golf cart at the apartment complex Tuesday afternoon, still reeling from the day's events. "An indefensible baby."

Reminded of grandson

Every morning, each maintenance worker at the complex is assigned to pick up trash in a certain area. It happened to be Michel's morning to clean near building 25. He first heard the newborn's whimpers as he dumped the contents of a bucket into the big bin.

He said he used the bucket as a stool and peered into the dumpster, scanning the pizza boxes, soda bottles and fast-food containers before he identified the bag from which the sounds were coming. As he pulled the bag out, Michel noticed the outline of the baby. The child was upside down.

As soon as he rescued the boy from the trash bag, Michel took off his gray work shirt and swaddled the newborn in it. The baby's dark hair was wet and sticky, possibly with placenta, and his body was cold.

Michel brought the child to his chest, rubbing the baby's back, trying to use his own body heat to warm the boy.

A co-worker then came by in pickup, and Michel hopped inside the truck's cab, turning up the heat to further warm the baby. The newborn's cheeks turned rosy as his body warmed. Michel said he could see the newborn's little chest bouncing with hiccups.

As Michel rocked him, he thought of his own 2-month-old grandson, Gerardo. The baby's whimpers reminded him of the cries Gerardo sometimes made. But not once did the newborn wail. He just lay still, cradled in Michel's arms, not ever opening his eyes.

At some points, it even seemed as though the newborn was falling asleep. Afraid that the child was too weak, Michel poked him to keep him conscious while they waited for paramedics to arrive.

"I didn't want him to die in my arms," he said.

Praise from CPS

CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said Michel undoubtedly saved the newborn's life.

"He heard the cries and took action, instead of just assuming it was an animal and leaving it there," she said, adding that the agency also is investigating the case.

Since September 1999 when the state's "Baby Moses" law took effect, 57 abandoned newborns have been found either dead or alive in the Houston metro area, Olguin said. She stressed that the law - which allows parents to leave infants up to 60 days old and unharmed at a hospital, fire station or ambulance station without fear of prosecution - was created so as to avoid the dangerous circumstances of abandoning newborns and infants.

"Really, surrendering your baby to a safe haven site gives your baby a chance," Olguin said.

Gregory Crew, a contractor working at the apartment complex, called 911 after one of his employees relayed the news of what Michel had found.

Crew, 46, said he's shocked that the newborn didn't suffocate inside the trash bag.

"That baby's a miracle," he said. "That's for sure."

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Baby-found-alive-in-apartment-trash-in-SE-Houston-5265991.php?cmpid=hpbn

Newborn baby boy found ALIVE after being stuffed in trash bag and dropped off in dumpster
A maintenance worker found the baby after hearing cat mewing sounds coming from the dumpster around 8:30am
The baby boy was found in a white trash bag along with food containers, scraps and school homework
The worker took the baby to a car to keep him warm while he waited for police and paramedics to arrive
While the baby was discovered purple and having a hard time breathing, he is doing fine at the hospital now
Police have identified the mother as a 16-year-old student at South Houston High School

The mother is currently under examination at the hospital, and will be questioned by the police once she is released

By Ashley Collman

PUBLISHED: 16:17 EST, 25 February 2014  | UPDATED: 17:36 EST, 25 February 2014
A newborn baby was found alive, stuffed into trash bag and thrown in a dumpster, at an apartment complex in Houston, Texas this morning.

Maintenance worker Carlos Michel made the sad discovery around 8:30am when he said he heard what sounded like a cat mewing near the dumpster at The Reserve apartments.

After throwing in a bag of trash, he says the sound got louder so he went to investigate.


Thrown out: A newborn baby was found alive in an apartment complex dumpster Tuesday morning in Houston


Strange noises: Maintenance worker Carlos Michel discovered the baby after hearing what sounded like a cat mewing coming from the dumpster


Sad discovery: The baby was found stuffed in a trash bag among food containers, scraps and school homework

Inside a white trash bag along with food containers, scraps and school homework, Michel found a 7-8 pound baby boy with four inches of its umbilical cord still attached.

Michel and another man took the baby to a nearby car to keep it warm while they waited for police and paramedics to arrive.

The boy was found purple and having a hard time breathing but appears to be doing well now at Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The police have since identified the mother as a 16-year-old who attends South Houston High School.

She is currently under examination at the same hospital where her baby is being cared for. Once released she will be questioned by police, who will then decide whether to bring up charges.

Other residents in the apartment early speculated on who the mother was.

'The maintenance lady said that it's a young girl who is pregnant and hiding it all the time,' resident Shawntal Posey told KHOU.


Who did it? One resident says she suspects a young girl who was hiding her pregnancy of the horrible crime


Found: Investigators identified the mother as a 16-year-old South Houston High School student. Above, investigators outside the apartment complex today

Adding to the tragedy is the fact that Texas has a special law to help new mothers who can't take care of their children.

The Baby Moses law states that a babies up to 60-days-old can be dropped off without fear of prosecution at any hospital, fire station or ambulance station - as long as the baby is handed off to a person.

The whole incident has scared Michel, who is a grandfather himself.

'It made a big impact,' he told the Houston Chronicle.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2567892/Newborn-baby-ALIVE-stuffed-trash-bag-dropped-dumpster.html

"Once released she will be questioned by police, who will then decide whether to bring up charges."  Excuse me.  She throws the kid away to die and they will "decide" on charges.  That's attempted murder in my book. Does not matter if she's 16 or not. William

Teen mom confesses to abandoning baby in dumpster but says she did not know she was pregnant then thought boy was dead after giving birth in bathtub
A maintenance worker found the baby alive after hearing cat mewing sounds coming from the dumpster Tuesday morning

Police identified the mother as a 16-year-old student at South Houston High School

The teen told a caseworker that she didn't know she was pregnant and hasn't spoken to the 22-year-old father in six months
She unexpectedly gave birth in a bathtub, but thought the boy died

The caseworker asked what she wanted to name the boy, and she decided on Carlos after the maintenance worker who found him

A judge granted temporary custody of the boy the Child Protective Services during an emergency hearing on Wednesday

By Ashley Collman
PUBLISHED: 10:33 EST, 27 February 2014  | UPDATED: 11:00 EST, 27 February 2014

The teen mom accused of abandoning her newborn in a dumpster says she thought the boy was dead when she threw him out with the trash, a Child Protective Services caseworker said in Houston yesterday.

The caseworker testified in an emergency custody hearing that the 16-year-old didn't even know she was pregnant when she went into labor and gave birth in her apartment bathtub.

After giving birth, the teen cut the boy's umbilical cord herself but thought her son was dead so placed him in the dumpster.


Resilient: Child protective services was granted temporary custody Wednesday of a newborn found alive in a Houston dumpster Tuesday morning. The mother has been identified as a 16-year-old who says she didn't know she was pregnant


Namesake: The baby boy was found my maintenance worker Carlos Michel (pictured). The mother decided to name the child after him

Apparently the teen's mother lives in Alvin, but she had been staying with her aunt while attending South Houston High School.

She says she has not spoken to her son's 22-year-old father in about six months.

A judge awarded CPS temporary custody of the child, but said she would allow the mother to visit the newborn if the attorney assigned to represent the baby agrees.

The caseworker asked the mom if she wanted to name her son, and she chose Carlos after the man who found the baby and saved his life.

The boy was found Tuesday morning at the Reserve Apartments by maintenance worker Carlos Michel, who heard what sounded like cat mewing coming from the dumpster.


Sad discovery: The baby was found stuffed in a trash bag among food containers, scraps and school homework

He investigated further and found the baby boy alive, stuffed in a white trash bag along with food containers, scraps and school homework.

Michel and another man took the baby to a nearby car to keep it warm while they waited for police and paramedics to arrive.

The boy was found purple and having a hard time breathing but was in good condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital yesterday.

The mother was also taken to the hospital for examination after being identified. Once released she will be questioned by police, who will then decide whether to bring up charges.


Strange noises: Maintenance worker Carlos Michel discovered the baby after hearing what sounded like a cat mewing coming from the dumpster

Both were still in the hospital as of Wednesday night, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Adding to the tragedy is the fact that Texas has a special law to help new mothers who can't take care of their children.

The Baby Moses law states that a babies up to 60-days-old can be dropped off without fear of prosecution at any hospital, fire station or ambulance station - as long as the baby is handed off to a person.

CPS is currently trying to figure out if there are any other family members who can look after the boy when he gets out of the hospital, or if he'll need to be placed in the foster care system.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2569306/Teen-mom-confesses-abandoning-baby-dumpster-says-thought-boy-dead-giving-birth-bathtub.html

How can any woman say she didn't know she was pregnant.  Excuse me.  No period for nine month's, a baby kicking inside her, her belly growing.  How can she say she did not now it was alive.  Very few if any babies don't cry when born.  It's eye's are open, it's breathing.  I sure hope this person does not get the boy back.  He will just end up dead in no time.  William

If she thought her baby was dead she would have called 911.

William, I agree with both of your comments!  Even the neighbor knew it; and what about her aunt whom she lived with?

And yes Twink, she would have called 911.  IMO all these females giving birth and killing their babies is a by-product of the abortion-brain-washing so prevalent now.  If you don't know that God "knew you before you were born" and had "plans for you from the womb" and are taught that the wonderful, tiny "little man (fetus)" growing in you is not living, only some by-product of your body then at what point do you start to love him.  Notice "him" and NOT "it" as the writer in the original news story referred to this precious infant.  Pregnancy is even being listed as a "preventable disease" in many of the Health Insurance policies.

How can you carry a baby for nine months and throw him in the trash?  I'll never understand.

"Teenage mother who confessed to abandoning baby in dumpster after giving birth in a bathtub may REGAIN custody
Mother told she has a year to prove she is capable of looking after the baby
A maintenance worker found the child alive in a dumpster on Tuesday
The mother is a 16-year-old student at South Houston High School
She claimed she didn't know she was pregnant until the birth
The teen unexpectedly gave birth in a bathtub, but thought the boy died
Mother named her son Carlos after the maintenance worker who found him
Judge granted temporary custody of the boy by Child Protective Services
Mother has been given permission to visit her son in foster care "

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2570055/Teenage-mother-confessed-abandoning-baby-dumpster-giving-birth-bathtub-REGAIN-custody.html

Most of this article is a rehash. How could the judge be so stupid. I just know this baby will end up dead within a year or two after she gets him back. She does not deserve a second chance. William

What a life this poor baby will have.  Shame on that judge.  Her parental rights should be terminated and the baby given up for adoption.   So many people would love to have a newborn baby to love and care for.