Panicked 911 calls have emerged detailing the horrifying moment a newborn baby was found in a dumpster in New Mexico after his 18-year-old mother tossed him in the trash six hours earlier in 30-degree weather.
'We just found a baby in the god**n trash,' the caller is heard saying. 'He’s freezing cold and still has his umbilical cord attached.'
It was around 8 p.m. that evening when a trio of dumpster divers, named by police as Michael Green, Hector Jesso and April Meadow, rescued the infant after hearing his cries.
At first, they thought it was a cat as they pulled a trash bag from the dumpster.
Surveillance video captured the scene as they opened the bag to find a shivering, whimpering newborn baby inside.
Incredibly, the baby was still alive, with the umbilical cord still attached. Police are then seen arriving at the scene.
'He's whimpering, he was not crying actually,' the caller told 911. 'I was looking for some stuff in the dumpster and we heard... We heard something I didn't know it was a baby. Thought it was a cat.'
Another dumpster diver joined the conversation with the 911 operator explaining that the baby still had his umbilical cord attached and that he was very weak.
'He's freezing cold and he's very, very, very weak,' she said.
The woman is heard saying that she had wrapped the baby inside her coat to keep him warm while trying to comfort him as he's heard whimpering on the 911 call.
Panicked 911 calls have emerged detailing the horrifying moment a newborn baby was found in a dumpster in New Mexico. 'We just found a baby in the god**n trash,' the caller is heard saying. 'He’s freezing cold and still has his umbilical cord attached'
Joe Imbriale, who owns Rig Outfitters and Homestore, said his surveillance cameras are pointed toward the dumpsters where the baby was found.
When police reviewed the video, they found the baby had been dumped nearly six hours earlier.
'What was even harder, that nobody has seen, is five hours of video of people dumping trash on this baby,” Imbriale said.
Footage from the same camera caught the moment a heroic woman rescued the child from the dumpster
The woman can be seen pulling the trash bag off the baby after being alerted by cries
The woman is heard saying that she had wrapped the baby inside her coat to keep him warm while trying to comfort him as he's heard whimpering on the 911 call
Police say it was the video that led them to the child's mother.
Alexis Avila, 18, of New Mexico, who was caught on video throwing the baby boy into a dumpster, has since been arrested and charged with attempted murder and child abuse.
She claims she did not know she was pregnant until the day before she delivered her baby in a bathroom.
Avila was released from jail after posting $10,000 unsecured bond less than two hours after her arrest. She will be arraigned at a later time at Lea County District Court.
August Fons, the acting chief of Hobbs police department, said he had never before come across a case like this.
'If you are struggling with a new infant, the best response is to find somebody who can help you with that,' he said.
'Contact us, and let us help you through the situation.'
Alexis Avila, 18, has been arrested and charged with attempted murder and child abuse for allegedly tossing her newborn child into a dumpster
Surveillance video showed a woman arriving in a white Volkswagen Jetta before opening the back door and tossing a black trash bag into a dumpster in Hobbs, New Mexico, at around 2 p.m. on January 7.
Six hours later, footage showed three people looking through the dumpster before one of them found the infant inside.
Chief Fons thanked the trio for saving the baby’s life. He said the trio's quick action was 'absolutely pivotal' in saving the baby boy's life.
Fons also acknowledged the officers who responded to the scene.
'These types of calls often stay with officers long after they’re resolved, often for many, many years,' Fons added.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by KRQE on Monday, Avila confessed to throwing away her child. The 18-year-old mother told police she did not know she was pregnant until she went to a doctor for a stomach pain on Thursday.
The following day, she delivered her son in a bathroom at her parents' home.
Avila said she had broken up with the baby's alleged father back in August 2021.
After giving birth, Avila said she 'panicked.'
She wrapped her son in a towel, placed him in a white plastic bag containing some trash, and a larger black trash bag, and drove around, before throwing the child in the dumpster at the Broadmoor Shopping Center at around 2pm.
New Mexico has a Safe Haven law, which allows a person to leave an infant not more than 90 days old with the staff of a hospital without fear of criminal prosecution.
It was not until nearly 8 p.m. that evening that a group of dumpster divers, named by police as Michael Green, Hector Jesso and April Meadow rescued the infant after hearing his cries.
Meadow kept the baby warm by holding him in her arms until help arrived.
Avila's son was taken to a hospital in Hobbs before being transferred to another hospital in Lubbock, Texas, which has a more advanced NICU unit.
When doctors assessed the baby, they found that his body temperate was so low that it did not register, indicating hypothermia. The newborn has since been given a blood transfusion, and put on a feeding tube and oxygen.
Police said the baby was in a stable condition at the hospital on Monday.
During her interview with the police, Avila was quoted as referring to her child as 'it.'
Avila's mother, Martha Avila, told investigators she was not aware of her daughter's pregnancy.
Police later executed a search warrant at the family's home and seized physical evidence, including bloody clothing.
The shocking footage from New Mexico shows Avila tossing her baby in to a dumpster in a trash bag
Avila is seen driving off in her car which was later used to find her, after abandoning her baby
Avila told cops she did not know she was pregnant until she went to see a doctor for a stomach pain on January 6. The next say, she delivered her son in her parents' bathroom
After giving birth, Avila said she 'panicked.' She wrapped her son in a towel, placed him in a white plastic bag containing some trash, and a larger black trash bag, and drove around, before throwing the child in the dumpster at the Broadmoor Shopping Center at around 2pm. The baby was found six hours later.
Imbriale, the owner of Rig Outfitters and Home Store, where the security camera footage was captured, said he was asked by police to review video on Friday night.
He told KOB: 'Something wasn't right, I saw the officers' faces, and they did not look right.
'I said 'What is it we are looking for?' and she goes 'We're looking for somebody who dumped a black garbage bag in your dumpster.' I turned around, I said 'please don't tell me it was a baby'.'
Imbriale told KRQE that the video recording included five hours of footage showing unsuspecting people 'dumping trash on this baby.'
The footage shows Avila driving into the parking lot in a white sedan and throwing a black garbage bag - containing her newborn - in it, before driving off and abandoning the child.
More footage shows the moment the child was rescued after people apparently heard the newborn's cries.
Meadows pulled out a trash bag and reacted to what was inside.
She immediately began tending to the baby.
The child was wrapped up before being handed over to police and paramedics when they arrived a short time later.
A GoFundMe account has been created for Michael Green, one of the three people who rescued the baby.
'We want to raise enough money to help get him off the streets and in a RV camper or something,' the account reads. 'Anything will help!'
Imbriale added: 'I was in shock just to see this.
'I can't sleep at night just knowing that this baby was just tossed in a dumpster like that.
'I'm sorry but who does that? That is evil. I don't have words for it.'
Avila could face up to 15 years in prison, depending on what charges are ultimately filed said Dianna Luce, the district attorney.
A hearing is set for Wednesday, January 11, 2022.
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