BOCA RATON, Fla.—A Brazilian woman who told Florida detectives she delivered a baby girl, then put the newborn in a plastic bag and tossed her into a dumpster was ordered to be held without bond on May 10.
Palm Beach County sheriff’s detectives arrested Rafaelle Alessandra Carbalho Sousa, 35, late Thursday on attempted murder and child abuse charges.
Earlier this week, the 6-pound, 8-ounce baby was found alive and taken to a local hospital. She is in custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Sousa appeared Friday before 15th Judicial Circuit Judge Ted Booras, who ordered her not to have contact with the baby. A Portuguese interpreter translated Booras’ orders.
A receipt from a beauty supply store, and a bundle of napkins with a large amount of blood in the same dumpster and in a garbage bag like the one where the baby was found led detectives to Sousa. The store gave the detectives the customer’s information, leading them to the mother’s address in Boca Raton, Florida.
Newborn girl found alive in Florida trash bin after cries are heard https://t.co/ri3Ufs1I2u pic.twitter.com/tbRnJJVgoa
— WESH 2 News (@WESH) May 8, 2019
Through a Portuguese translator, Sousa told detectives that she tried to get the baby to respond, waiting three hours for her to breathe. A report says she said she went back to the dumpster two times to make sure the baby was dead, but she never approached the bag because there were other people nearby.
A man interviewed at the residence where detectives served the warrant told them he “had no idea” Sousa was pregnant. The report says Sousa is a married nail technician who was born in Brazil.
Two maintenance workers heard the baby crying and found her in the dumpster Wednesday, the arrest report says. It’s not clear how long the baby had been there or when she was delivered.
NEWBORN FOUND IN DUMPSTER: Two people walking at an apartment complex in Florida heard crying coming from the bin and found the baby Wednesday morning. | https://t.co/i33DPI4u15 pic.twitter.com/CLjQe1At6q
— CBS 17 (@WNCN) May 8, 2019
Under Florida law, newborns can be dropped off anonymously at a hospital or fire station with no questions asked.
The public defender’s office is representing Sousa, but an attorney had yet to be assigned to the case.
3 Charged After Newborn Left Atop Trash Can in Chicago Alley
In a similar incident this week, an hours-old baby was rescued after being found abandoned on top of a garbage can in a Chicago alley on May 7.
The teenage parents of the newborn are facing attempted murder charges, and a grandmother of the child is accused of lying to police about finding the baby.
Chicago police say the 16-year-old mother and 17-year-old father are expected to appear on Friday, May 10, in juvenile court.
Police say the girl gave birth, wrapped the boy in a towel and placed him atop a garbage can Tuesday in an alley on Chicago’s Northwest Side, 1700 block N. Pulaski.
They say the boy’s father put the baby in a bag before calling his 37-year-old mother, who took the child to a fire station.
The teenage father’s mother is now charged with disorderly conduct and falsely reporting how she ended up with the child.
The Associated Press isn’t naming her to avoid identifying the teens.