Police says ‘person’ who found baby in Colorado Springs dumpster is actually the mother
The teenager who reportedly found a newborn baby in a Dumpster on Wednesday afternoon was actually the child’s mother and had given birth earlier that day in her home, according to Colorado Springs police.
Crime Scene Tape photo/editted pic from FBI.gov
DHS has custody of the child while the 17-year-old mother now faces possible charges of influencing a public official, a felony, or false reporting, a misdemeanor.
According to police, the baby girl was between six and 12 hours old when her mother reportedly told someone that she had found her in a dumpster at the Rosemont at Shadow Mountain apartment complex.
Miller said there was no indication that the baby had been harmed or had even been outside of the care of its mother when police arrived to investigate.
“That’s why we don’t think she faces any child abuse charges,” Miller said.
The name of the mother is not being released because she is a juvenile, Miller said.
Police say the mother of the baby could have taken advantage of Colorado’s Safe Haven law, which allows parents to leave a baby, less than 72 hours old, with an employee at a fire station or hospital.
There are no questions asked and parents do not face any charges.
A rash of infant deaths sparked debates and concerns for children. Cassidy Goodson from Florida made headlines after birthing her son, then strangling the newborn to hide the child’s birth. In Pittsburgh, a father shook a baby to death when she wouldn’t stop crying.
UPDATE: No charges will be filed against the mother.
The Department of Human Services is actively involved with the baby and services are being provided to the baby’s mother.