HOUSTON – Police are investigating after a homeless man found a dead newborn inside a dumpster in southeast Houston.
It happened at around 10 a.m. Thursday morning at the Cuney Homes apartment complex in the 3200 block of Truxillo.
The homeless man, Ricky Rigsby, said he was rummaging through the dumpster for cans when he found the baby inside a plastic bag, an umbilical cord still attached. “It scared me, so I tried to get help, but it was already dead,” Rigsby said.
Evelyn Walker lives right across from the dumpster. “I can’t understand how a human being could do this to another human being,” Walker said.
It is unclear if the baby was male or female or how long the baby had been there.
Police are now working to find out who the mother is and who left the baby in the dumpster.
They also want to remind people about the Safe Haven law, which allows people to drop off babies at designated sites such as hospitals and police stations, no questions asked.
This homeless man was rummaging through dumpster when he found the baby in a plastic bag and called for help @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/RWCzOrxMv1
— Samantha Ptashkin (@SamPtashkin) May 19, 2016
This woman lives near scene. As a mother she can't comprehend how someone could put a baby in a dumpster @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/EPLD1S9Hm3
— Samantha Ptashkin (@SamPtashkin) May 19, 2016
HPD: baby found by homeless man rummaging through dumpster. The baby was wrapped in a plastic bag @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/mEeWYt9skO
— Samantha Ptashkin (@SamPtashkin) May 19, 2016