A 26-year-old California mother has been arrested and accused of abandoning her hours-old son beside an outdoor dumpster in the rain, leaving him exposed to the elements with his umbilical cord still attached.
Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos was taken into custody on Sept. 17 and charged with one count of child endangerment, authorities announced.
According to a news release from the Riverside Police Department, the case began around 2:30 p.m. on May 4, 2025. The Public Safety Communications Center received multiple reports of a baby crying inside a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Jackson Street. The complex is about 50 miles southeast of Los Angeles.
“Responding officers discovered a newborn infant who had been found moments earlier by a resident,” the release states. “The baby was lying next to a dumpster, breathing and crying, with the umbilical cord still attached. The infant had been left uncovered and exposed to the rain.”
Emergency medical personnel rushed the newborn to a nearby hospital, where he was admitted in stable condition, Los Angeles reported. The station said the baby remains in Child Protective Services custody.
Investigators believe the child was delivered “only a few hours” before he was discovered, according to the release.
Over the following year, detectives who specialize in child abuse cases identified Ramos as the baby’s mother, police said.
Ramos was booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center on Sept. 17, and a judge set her bond at $35,000. Online jail records showed she was no longer in custody as of Tuesday afternoon. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2027, at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
In the wake of the case, police reminded residents about California’s Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which is intended to prevent newborn deaths caused by unsafe abandonment. The law allows a parent or legal guardian to surrender a baby at designated locations within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked.
That window is about to expand. Legislation signed this month by Gov. Gavin Newsom will extend the safe surrender period to 30 days, effective Jan. 1, 2027.