A teenage mom who was apparently living in the country illegally has given a sickening excuse for placing her newborn baby in a trash bag and tossing it in a dumpster.
Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, 18, a Guatemalan national, was taken into custody on Thursday for allegedly leaving the baby boy with his umbilical cord still attached in the dumpster outside of an apartment building in Houston, Texas on July 21.
She allegedly told police in the aftermath that she thought she had ‘no choice’ but to put the baby in the dumpster because she didn’t want her boyfriend to break up with her, according to court documents obtained by Law & Crime.
The documents go on to reveal she gave birth ‘on the ground behind the food truck where she works’ and then taking the baby – referred to in court documents as John Doe or CW – and placing him in a dumpster.
‘[Defendant] put the child, placenta and umbilical cord into a trash bag, took the trash bag to a dumpster and left the child in the dumpster tied inside the trash bag,’ a magistrate judge wrote in a bond order, noting that the ‘event’ was caught on surveillance footage.
Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, 18, a Guatemalan national, was taken into custody on Thursday for allegedly placing her newborn baby in a trash bag and tossing it in a dumpster
Eventually, a passerby heard the newborn crying from the dumpster and called 911.
Officers with the Houston Police Department and emergency personnel responded to the scene at around 1.15pm.
Heart-stopping footage obtained by ABC13 then shows officials responding to the scene, and finding the baby boy inside a bag.
EMS were then seen wrapping the baby in a blanket by the dumpster. The child appeared to be fresh out of the womb, with his hair wet, his skin pruned and his umbilical cord still attached.
Thankfully, he survived the horrific ordeal.
He was examined at a hospital and was determined to be in good health.
The baby is now under the care of Child Protective Services.
Heart-stopping footage shows officials responding to the scene outside a Houston apartment building, and finding the baby boy inside a bag
EMS were then seen wrapping the baby in a blanket by the dumpster
Cux-Ajtzalam is now charged with one count of felony abandoning a child without the intent to return.
She made her first court appearance on Friday, where she was reportedly scolded by Harris District Court Judge Veronica M. Nelson.
‘It was pure luck that the child was found and received care,’ the judge said, according to the Houston Chronicle.
‘Given the fact that it’s the middle of the summer in Houston, Texas and the temperature at the time… I’m going to set the bail in this case at $90,000.’
Prosecutors requested a bond of $150,000 and a public defender sought a bond of $7,500, Law & Crime reports.
Court documents suggest Cux-Ajtzalam gave birth ‘on the ground behind the food truck where she works’
Cux-Ajtzalam’s bond was later raised to $200,000 on Monday, ABC 13 reports.
She is said to be a flight risk, having no ties to the country, according to Click 2 Houston.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement have also placed a hold on her release, and court documents noted she was previously arrested in 2023 by Customs and Border Patrol.
The court documents also note she has a mental disability.