Police: Alabama Teen Who Said Newborn ‘Cost Too Much Money’ Left Baby to Die in Dumpster

A young woman in Dothan, Alabama, is accused of leaving her newborn in a dumpster, where he was later found dead.

Eighteen-year-old Jakayla Ashanti Williams, who law enforcement officers believe is the baby’s mother, has been charged with capital murder, NBC 15 reported on Thursday, August 24.

In a press release, the Dothan Police Department shared details of the case and what happened leading up to the discovery of the baby’s body:

On Thursday August 24, 2023, the Dothan Police Department was contacted by medical staff at Southeast Health and advised a female was there attempting to recover a child she claimed she had left at their facility on August 13, 2023, with one of their employees in the hospital lobby.

The young woman claimed she gave birth at her home on Tate Drive on August 13 and a few hours later took the baby to the hospital and left him with a staff member.

“The female stated she did that because she did not want the child and it cost too much money,” the agency said.

Her family apparently did not know anything about her pregnancy until Wednesday. Once they learned the information, they wanted to recover the baby and went to Southeast Health trying to find the infant.

However, it was eventually determined the young woman had not gone to the medical facility the day she claimed.

During an interview with police, the young woman said she took the newborn, wrapped him in a blanket, and abandoned him in a trash dumpster at an apartment complex on the west side of town, adding the baby was still alive at the time.

The police department continued:

Investigators went to that location and located a trash compactor attached to a dumpster. The dumpster was seized by the Dothan Police Department and taken to the City of Dothan land field where investigators and officers sifted through the contents. During that process, the remains of a newborn child were located wrapped in a mattress protector that was in a zipped-up duffel bag.

The baby’s remains are now in the care of the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences, where officials are working to confirm if the remains are the newborn’s.

Law enforcement referred to Williams as the baby’s mother.

“I’ve never even heard of something so horrific as this. It shocks the mind, it shocks the soul,” Dothan Police Chief Will Benny told reporters when speaking of the situation.

“She knew, obviously, that she could take a child, newborn, to the hospital and drop it off. And there’s Alabama law, there’s a no questions asked policy,” he added.

Officials are currently holding Williams in jail without bond, according to WDHN.

“Safe haven drop-off boxes for babies are on their way after legislation passed June 1 amended the previous drop-off law by changing the eligible drop off age from 72 hours to 45 days,” ABC 3340 reported Sunday, adding the areas that will receive such boxes include Dothan.

“The issue came up recently as a mother in Dothan was charged with capital murder after her newborn child’s remains were found in a dumpster,” the outlet said.