A teen mom allegedly living illegally in the US is accused of tossing her newborn baby into a dumpster and chillingly telling police she “had no choice” but to abandon her child in such a cruel manner, according to a report.
Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, 18, was arrested in Houston, TX., on Thursday after investigators claim she gave birth to a baby boy “on the ground behind the food truck where she works” on July 21, then placed the child in “a tied garbage bag” before dumping the newborn into a random apartment building’s dumpster, according to court documents obtained by Law & Crime.
“(Defendant) put the child, placenta, & umbilical cord into a trash bag, took the trash bag to a dumpster, & left the child in the dumpster tied inside the trash bag,” a magistrate judge for the District Court for Harris County wrote in a bond order for Cux-Ajtzalam.
Fortunately, a passerby found the child later in the day after the newborn began crying.
The Houston Police Department and emergency medical personnel were able to remove the baby from the dumpster safely and transported him to the Texas Children’s Hospital to be evaluated.
Investigators quickly discovered the child was connected to the food truck, leading them to Cux-Ajtzalam.
The alleged careless mother sickeningly told investigators that she “had no choice” but to put her baby in the dumpster because “she didn’t want her boyfriend to break up with her,” according to Law & Crime.
The “event” was also caught on surveillance footage, according to the bond order.
Saddening footage provided by ABC13 shows the moment first responders arrived on the scene and found the baby boy inside the bag.
EMS workers were seen wrapping the crying newborn in a blue blanket just inches from the dumpster.
The newborn boy has since been placed in the care of Child Protective Services and is in good health.
Cux-Ajtzalam — a Guatemalan national — was charged with one count of felony abandoning a child without the intent to return.
She made her first court appearance on Friday, where Harris County District Court Judge Veronica M. Nelson scolded her for leaving her son to die in a dumpster, according to the Houston Chronicle.
“It was pure luck that the child was found and received care,” Nelson said to the mother.
“Given the fact that it’s the middle of summer in Houston, Texas, and the temperature at the time noting the danger to the child; under those circumstances, I’m going to set the bail in this case at $90,000.”
Prosecutors requested she be held on a bond of $150,000, but her public defender sought a bond of $7,500.
However, Cux-Ajtzalam’s bond was raised to $200,000 on Monday, according to ABC 13.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has placed a hold on her release and labeled her as a flight risk.
Cux-Ajtzalam was also previously arrested in 2023 by Customs and Border Patrol and has an undisclosed mental disability, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
She is currently being held at the Harris County Jail.
