Man, woman arrested in connection to dead baby found in Florida trash bin

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — A woman believed to be the mother of a child found dead in a garbage bin earlier this year has been arrested, along with a man who police say helped her dump the body outside a South Florida apartment complex.

They are both charged with failure to report a death, and the man is also charged with illegally disposing of a body, Hollywood police said Friday evening.

The full-term boy, with the umbilical cord still attached, was found on January 7 by an employee of a roofing company who had noticed a foul odor. According to a police statement, he found the baby in a reusable shopping bag in the trash and notified authorities.

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

The autopsy showed the baby showed no signs of trauma or injury, the affidavit said. The final cause of death is pending further investigation to determine whether the baby was born alive or stillborn, the affidavit said.