Mother charged with murder in death of 4-month-old baby found in South L.A. dumpster
A woman was charged with murder in connection with the death of her 4-month-old baby, who was found dead in a dumpster earlier this week in South Los Angeles, according to a criminal complaint made public Thursday.
Takiyah Rochelle Babers, 19, was charged with murder and assault on a child causing death, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
The district attorney’s office and the Los Angeles Police Department said they could not comment on the case.
Babers, a Los Angeles resident, was scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon, but the hearing was continued and she did not enter a plea, according to Najee Ali, an advocate for the suspect’s foster parents, who were the baby’s primary caregivers.
Babers is being held in lieu of $2-million bail. The Los Angeles County public defender’s office, which is representing Babers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Her next court date is set for Oct. 30.
The 19-year-old was arrested hours after her child was found in a trash can Monday evening near Alba Street and Long Beach Avenue, according to authorities.
The Los Angeles Fire Department took the infant to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Ali, a well-known South L.A. activist, said security footage from the apartment complex showed Babers throwing her child’s body in the dumpster.
Ring camera footage from the apartment also shows Babers turning off the apartment lights and turning on loud music almost immediately after her foster mother dropped the baby off on Monday, according to Ali, who said the footage had been turned over to Los Angeles police detectives.
“That’s why they believe she didn’t just snap. It was planned. It was an intentional act of murder,” Ali said on behalf of Babers’ foster mother and father.
A law enforcement source with direct knowledge of the investigation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing case, said Ali’s account was accurate.
Neighborhood residents Herman Johnson and Laura Lacy told KTLA-TV that Babers is their foster daughter and the baby their grandchild.
“I love her and I still want to know why,” Lacy said. “What was the problem? Why did you do that? You had no reason to do that.”
The resident who found the child told KNBC-TV that she was taking out the trash around 10:30 p.m. when she saw a black cloth bag inside the dumpster. She saw the child, who was fully dressed with gloves on, and thought it was a doll.
She and another neighbor called 911 once they realized it was a child, the outlet reported.