HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Residents of a northwest Harris County subdivision are reeling after the body of a newborn baby boy was discovered in the back of a garbage truck.
The body was found around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the 13200 block of Fountaincrest Court, located in the Chimney Hill subdivision.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the baby was estimated to be between one day and 30 days old. “The sanitation workers had begun repacking the trash when they found the infant at the bottom of the trash can,” said Sgt. Sidney Miller.
Cheryl Boen, who lives nearby, was watching ABC13 when she recognized the scene from the news as being outside her own home. “My jaw dropped when I saw the footage,” Boen said. “I came outside to see what was happening.”
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an extensive investigation and plans to speak with residents across the 400 to 500 homes in the neighborhood. They will also examine other contents of the trash truck for potential clues and are considering the possibility that the baby might have been brought from outside the Chimney Hill area.
Germany Scott, a six-month resident of Chimney Hill and currently pregnant with her third child, expressed her shock and sorrow. “I was speechless,” she said. “There are other options if you can’t care for a baby. An innocent baby shouldn’t end up in the trash.”
Texas offers the Baby Moses Law, which permits parents to legally leave a newborn they cannot care for at any hospital, fire station, or emergency medical services station. The baby must be 60 days old or younger, unharmed, and safe.
In the past 11 months, according to CPS, five babies have been abandoned, while three were safely relinquished through the Baby Moses Law in Houston.
Anyone with information about the discovery is urged to contact the Harris County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Division at 713-274-9100 or provide an anonymous tip to Crime Stoppers of Houston at 713-222-TIPS.
