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Police: Metro Detroit Mother Abandoned Newborn Baby In Shed On Christmas Day

ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - A metro Detroit mother is facing charges after police say she wrapped up her 3-day-old baby and left him in a shed on Christmas Day.

Roseville police released more details Tuesday in the case of the infant who was found frozen in a recycling center dumpster.

According to Roseville Chief Berlin, the Eastpointe woman, 24, gave birth to the baby at a friend's house on Dec. 22. Three days later, he said, she disposed of the child in freezing temperatures.

She may have kept the baby in a garage until that point, Berlin said.

"The suspect in this matter made statements that, after the baby died, she wrapped it up and placed it inside a shed; and someone must have taken it from the shed and placed it in the recycling bin thinking it was garbage, I guess," said Berlin.

The baby — who's been dubbed "Henry Alexander Macomb" — was discovered among newspapers on the night of Jan 14 at the ReCommunity Recycling Center on Groesbeck Highway, between 12 and 13 Mile roads in Roseville. He was naked, wrapped in a black with T-shirt with the umbilical cord still attached.

It's not yet been confirmed whether the baby was indeed already dead when the mother abandoned him.  The Macomb County Medical Examiner's Office, said Berlin, is working to confirm a timeline.

"The story's just sick to begin with, and it's getting sicker," he said.

The suspect was arrested Monday after police received tips from her family and friends who knew she was pregnant and became suspicious when they saw the story about the baby on the news.

The suspect's name will be released following an arraignment set for Wednesday in Eastpointe District Court. Charges in the case could include murder, child abuse and unlawful disposal of a body.

Berlin said she has no criminal record.

"She does have three other children," Berlin said. "They had been removed from her custody — I don't know why — but she does not have custodial care of them...And no husband or boyfriend that we know of currently."

"We have no idea who the father is," he added.

No one else is expected to be charged in the case.

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