Newborn girl found alive in dumpster; 1 charged

PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) – A newborn baby girl who was found alive in a dumpster in western Kentucky remained in a hospital Friday, and a teenager was charged with attempted murder, a law enforcement officer said.

The McCracken County sheriff’s office said the baby was in stable condition after being found by a man from a Paducah business Thursday afternoon.

“What alerted him was he heard a loud noise outside,” Sgt. Darrin Frommeyer of the sheriff’s office said Friday. The man said he went outside, saw a young man walking away from the dumpster, walked over to it and heard a baby crying, Frommeyer said. When he opened the dumpster, he found the baby and called authorities.

A 17-year-old boy was detained later and charged with attempted murder, first-degree criminal abuse and tampering with physical evidence, Frommeyer said.

The teen is the boyfriend of the baby’s 15-year-old mother, who was taken to a hospital with bleeding hours after the baby was found, Frommeyer said. He did not know the mother’s condition.

“They pretty much determined that she had had a baby recently,” Frommeyer said. “We found out who her boyfriend was and questioned him. Eventually he confessed to what happened.”

Frommeyer said officials don’t know whether the 17-year-old is the baby’s father. He was scheduled to appear in juvenile court on Monday. Officials did not release their names because of their ages.

The mother lives with her mother and sister in an apartment near the business where the baby was found, and the boyfriend lives with his aunt, Frommeyer said. The girl’s family told authorities they didn’t know she was pregnant, the sergeant added.

Capt. Matt Carter of the sheriff’s office told The Paducah Sun there is “no doubt about it, the eyewitness saved the baby’s life.”

A woman answering the phone at the business Friday said no one had a comment.