Alabama Woman Leaves Baby to Die in Trash Compactor

A woman in Dothan, Alabama has been charged with capital murder.

WBRC reported that 18-year-old Jakayla Ashanti Williams received the charge after leaving her newborn baby in a dumpster. The dumpster was equipped with a trash compactor.

In a press conference Thursday night, Dothan Police Chief Will Benny provided details on the case.

Benny said the department confirmed Williams had her baby on August 13 at about 7:30 a.m. Later that morning she "went to an apartment complex on the west side of Dothan" and left the baby in a dumpster outfitted with a trash compactor.

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The department was able to recover the newborn's body from among the trash and sent it to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.

"In 27 years in law enforcement...I've never even heard of something so horrific as this," Chief Benny said. "It shocks the mind, it shocks the soul."

Chief Benny said Williams explained her actions by saying "she didn't want a child."

Alabama law has a "no questions asked policy" where someone can drop their child off at a hospital and not be questioned. Chief Benny said although Williams was aware of this fact, she "chose not to do that."

WBRC reported that Williams is being held without bail.