Authorities in Tennessee are investigating the tragic death of a newborn baby found abandoned in a dumpster behind a gas station in Whitehaven, just outside Memphis. The Memphis Police Department responded to a call about the deceased infant around 9:30 a.m. on Monday at East Shelby Drive and Faronia Road.
Jeet Singh, the gas station owner, told local news station WMC that he noticed emergency responders looking inside the dumpster. Curious, he checked his security cameras and saw footage of someone throwing a black trash bag into the dumpster and then driving away. About two hours later, police arrived at the scene.
“When I saw them looking, I quickly went to see what was inside,” Singh said. “A firefighter told me there was a body in the bag. I jumped into the dumpster, pulled the bag out, and gave it to them. They opened it and found a baby inside.”
According to police, the baby’s mother is a teenage girl who gave birth in a car while on the way to the hospital. Also in the car was 45-year-old James Boothe, who was later identified as the person caught on surveillance footage leaving the trash bag in the dumpster.
Boothe has been arrested and charged with abuse of a corpse. Later, additional charges were filed against him, including the rape of a child, according to court records. The cause of the baby’s death is still being investigated.
The teenage mother was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Court records show that she told investigators she had been in a relationship with Boothe for three years.
Boothe has a lengthy criminal history dating back to the 1990s. Records show that he was charged with first-degree murder in 1994. He later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 25 years in prison in 1995. At the time, he would have been just 15 years old.
This heartbreaking case highlights the importance of Tennessee’s Safe Haven Law. This law allows parents who are unable to care for a newborn to legally surrender the baby at a fire station, police station, or hospital without facing criminal charges. Similar laws exist in all 50 states to provide a safe option for struggling parents and prevent tragedies like this one.
