Woman Arrested In Case Of Newborn Baby Found In Recycling Center Dumpster

ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - There's been a break in the case of a baby boy found in a dumpster at a metro Detroit recycling center.

Roseville police say a 24-year-old woman has been arrested.

Police Chief James Berlin said the metro Detroit woman was picked up Monday morning based on tips from a few people who saw the story in the news.

"People knew she was pregnant and...she made some claims to friends and family (about) what happened to that child," Berlin told WWJ Newsradio 950's Sandra McNeil. "And after a while they started thinking more about it and didn't think her story was adding up, so they contacted us."

The woman, whose name was not immediately released, was arrested in the metro Detroit area, Berlin said.

The infant — who's since been dubbed "Henry Alexander Macomb" — was discovered the night of Jan 15 in a dumpster at the ReCommunity Recycling Center on Groesbeck Highway, between 12 and 13 Mile roads in Roseville. He was found among newspapers from several northern Michigan counties so detectives had begun to search Up North.

The baby, a Caucasian male, was estimated to be between one and three days old. The umbilical cord was still attached, police said, so the child may have died just after birth.

Berlin said, as the investigation continues, police would be executing some search warrants, so he did not plan to release any more information in the case for the time being — including whether the suspect has a criminal history or any evidence of mental illness.

However, Berling said, the arrest is a relief for the entire department.

"The heinousness of it, and the fact that this little child never had a chance will haunt all of us for a very long, long time," Berlin said.

A $2,500 reward was offered by Crime Stoppers for the tip leading to an arrest in this case.

Authorities are reminding the public that Michigan has a "safe haven" law — which allows parents to safely surrender their newborn child, no more than 72-hours-old, to an employee who is inside and on duty at any hospital, fire department or police station, or by calling 911. This program is a safe, legal and anonymous alternative to abandonment or infanticide, and releases the newborn for placement with an adoptive family.