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Texas Mother Charged With Attempted Capital Murder For Allegedly Throwing Newborn In Dumpster
Alyssa Baker says she didn't know she was pregnant and claims that “the baby just fell out” when she went to the bathroom, police say.
A mother accused of abandoning her newborn child in a dumpster behind a Texas restaurant last month was arrested on Saturday and will be charged with attempted capital murder, police say.
Alyssa Hazel Baker is alleged to have thrown her infant son into a dumpster behind Souper Salad, a restaurant in Hurst, Texas.
The 28-year-old woman reportedly gave birth to the boy in the restroom of the eatery before tossing the newborn into the dumpster, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Star-Telegram in Fort Worth.
Baker says she did not know she was pregnant, and claims that “the baby just fell out” when she went to the bathroom to pee, the affidavit said.
She told police that she had no signs of pregnancy, but when investigators searched her phone, they turned up more than 50 searches for topics like miscarriage, pregnancy and abortions, the affidavit said. Police discovered she had even searched “how many newborns are discarded in the US.”
One of Baker’s coworkers told police that Baker had been to the bathroom several times that morning, and at one point, while locked in a stall, asked for a pair of scissors, the Star-Telegram reported.
Baker emerged from the bathroom carrying bloody scissors and later threw a black garbage bag in the dumpster behind the restaurant, the affidavit explains. Jordan Edwards, who worked with Baker, said that she though Baker had a miscarriage and called an ambulance, according to the Star-Telegram.
When police arrived, Baker told them she thought she'd had a miscarriage, according to the affidavit. When officers asked if there was a fetus in the dumpster, Baker responded: “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have done that,” according to the affidavit.
She told police that when she put the baby in the bag it was not moving or crying, and that she knew what she was doing was wrong, according to the affidavit.
“I didn’t throw the baby away on purpose,” Baker told police.
According to the affidavit filed on July 12, the infant was taken to the nearby hospital and was listed in good condition. The baby weighed four pounds when it was born at 31 weeks.
Baker is being held in Tarrant County jail and her bail is set at $50,000.
[Photo: Hurst Police]
