A woman discovered a four-month-old baby girl inside a bag in a Los Angeles dumpster on Monday night.
The baby was taken to hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her mother has since been arrested on suspicion of murder.
Martha Jimenez discovered Luna, the daughter of 19-year-old Takiyah Babers, on Alba Street. The location is around four-and-a-half miles south of downtown LA.
Babers is now being held on $2 million bail, Daily Mail reports. The Los Angeles Police Department says that the investigation into her daughter’s death remains ongoing.
Babers’ foster parents, Herman Johnson and Laura Lacey, became concerned after seeing news reports around 4am on Tuesday that a baby found in a dumpster had six toes on her left foot.
Luna had the same distinctive feature, Fox11 says, prompting them to rush to the apartment where Babers had been staying.
Fox11 reports Babers initially told the couple Luna was asleep. She then claimed that the baby was with her father, who they said had never been involved in the child’s life.
Babers reportedly then left, supposedly to collect Luna, and returned showing them a video on her phone as reassurance that the baby was fine. Laura was said to have noticed Babers was wearing different clothes in the footage from those she had on that morning.
The discrepancy deepened their suspicions about where Luna was. They also found her car seat unused in the bedroom.
Johnson spoke to Fox11 about his heartbreak at learning where Luna had been found. He said that he was at a total loss for words.
Lacey also described the impact on their household. She told NBCLA: ‘I miss my grandbaby, my whole house is hurt.’
The family joined members of the community for a vigil yesterday. Mourners gathered at the same dumpster where Jimenez had discovered Luna two nights earlier.
Candles, flowers and balloons were left in the baby’s memory. Photographs of Luna were placed among the tributes.
Takiyah’s father, Van R Babers, also attended the vigil for Luna.
Speaking to KTLA 5, Van said: ‘The little baby was just precious like all babies.’ He also expressed disbelief at the suspicions surrounding his daughter.
‘It’s a total surprise to me that this could even take place at her hands because what happened is so different than the way she was throughout life.’
The Los Angeles Police Department issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that the investigation was continuing. Police asked anyone with information to contact the LAPD’s Abused Child Unit, Juvenile Division.