Alabama teen charged with capital murder after newborn infant found in trash bin

DOTHAN, Ala. (AP) — An Alabama teenager has been charged with capital murder after police said she disposed of her newborn infant by placing it an apartment complex’s trash bin and trash compactor, authorities said.

“I’ve never even heard of something so horrific as this. It shocks the mind. It shocks the soul,” Dothan Police Chief Will Benny said at a press conference Thursday.

Jakayla Ashanti Williams, 18, of Dothan is being held without bond on a capital murder charge, court records show.

Police found the baby’s remains Thursday after sifting through the contents in the trash bin, which has a compaction mechanism that periodically crushes trash, Benny said.

Clay Wadsworth, a court-appointed attorney for Williams, told The Associated Press that while he just received the case, his initial opinion is that postpartum mental health issues are a factor.

“There is going to be an issue there with that,” Wadsworth said. He said he will be seeking a psychological evaluation of Williams.

Court records indicate Williams had her first court appearance Friday morning. Williams said there will be a bond hearing in the coming weeks.

The grisly discovery was made after family members became suspicious of Williams’ claims that she dropped the baby off at a hospital and had given it to a “red-headed nurse,” Benny said.

The family went to the hospital on Thursday because they wanted to bring the baby home, he said. “The medical center called us because there was no evidence she had ever been at the hospital and dropped any baby off,” Benny said.

Police believe she had given birth in her room on the morning of Aug. 13 and placed the infant in the trash the same day.

“She went to an apartment complex on the west side of Dothan and placed a live newborn in a trash compactor,” Benny said.

Benny said the teen admitted placing the infant in the bin which was at the back of an apartment complex in Dothan.

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