An 18-year-old mom, Everilda Cux-Ajtzalam, who is allegedly living illegally in the US, has been accused of throwing her newborn baby into a dumpster and callously telling police that she “had no choice” but to abandon her child in such a cruel manner, as reported by Law & Crime.
Cux-Ajtzalam was arrested in Houston, Texas, on Thursday after investigators claimed she gave birth to a baby boy behind the food truck where she works on July 21. She then allegedly placed the child in a tied garbage bag and dumped the newborn into a dumpster at a random apartment building, according to court documents obtained by Law & Crime.
A magistrate judge for the District Court for Harris County wrote in a bond order that “(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.”
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 safely remove the baby from the dumpster and transport him to Texas Children’s Hospital for evaluation.
Investigators traced the child back to the food truck, leading them to Cux-Ajtzalam.
The alleged mother callously 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, as reported by Law & Crime.
Surveillance footage captured the event, according to the bond order.
Heartbreaking footage from ABC13 shows the moment first responders arrived 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, has been charged with one count of felony child abandonment without the intent to return.
During her first court appearance, Harris County District Judge Veronica M. Nelson scolded her for leaving her son in a dumpster, as reported by 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 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 has placed a hold on her release and labeled her a flight risk.
Records indicate that Cux-Ajtzalam was previously arrested in 2023 by Customs and Border Protection and has an undisclosed mental disability, according to the Houston Chronicle.
She is currently being held at the Harris County Jail.
