An 18-year-old Alabama mother placed her living newborn son inside a trash compactor dumpster after falsely claiming she surrendered him to a hospital nurse, police said.
Jakayla Ashanti Williams, 18, lived in Dothan, Alabama, according to investigators.
On August 13, 2023, Williams secretly gave birth to the baby boy inside a bedroom at her home around 7:30 a.m., investigators said.
Her family did not know she had been pregnant, authorities said.
The infant was born alive, police said.
After giving birth, Williams told relatives she had taken the newborn to the hospital and surrendered him to an employee, police said. Her family initially believed her, according to investigators.
On August 23, 2023, relatives accompanied Williams to Southeast Health in Dothan because they wanted to bring the baby home, authorities said.
Hospital employees searched their records and found no evidence Williams had ever surrendered a newborn, according to police.
Williams had told her family she surrendered the baby to a red-headed nurse, but employees found no record of the child, police said.
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage and determined Williams had never brought the infant to the hospital, police said.
During questioning, the teen initially continued claiming she gave the newborn to a red-headed nurse, investigators said. She later admitted that was a lie, according to police.
Williams told investigators she wrapped her newborn son in a blanket and took him to an apartment complex on the west side of Dothan, according to police.
The mother placed the child inside a dumpster equipped with a trash compactor, police said.
The newborn was still alive when Williams put him inside the dumpster, police said.
Williams allegedly told investigators she did not want the child and said raising him would cost too much money, according to police.
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The suspect had no known connection to the apartment complex, authorities said.
Investigators seized the dumpster and transported it to the Dothan landfill, police said.
During a search of the dumpster’s contents, authorities found the newborn’s remains wrapped in a mattress protector and placed inside a zipped duffel bag, according to police.
Investigators believed the baby died sometime after Williams left him in the dumpster and before the trash was transported to the landfill, police said. Authorities have not publicly released the baby’s specific medical cause of death, according to officials.
The victim was a newborn boy whose name has not been publicly released, police said.
Williams was arrested and charged with capital murder, according to court documents.
On February 21, 2024, a grand jury formally indicted Williams on the capital murder charge, court records show.
The defendant later asked to be treated as a youthful offender, court records show. The request was denied, according to court documents.
Attorneys for the accused entered pleas of not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental disease or defect, court records show.
As the case moved toward trial, prosecutors announced they intended to seek the death penalty, according to court records.
The defense argued against a death sentence, citing her age at the time of the killing, lack of a prior criminal record and reported mental health issues, court filings show.
Jury selection was scheduled to begin in September 2026, according to court records.
On September 14, 2026, 21-year-old Jakayla Ashanti Williams pleaded guilty to capital murder before the trial began, court records show.
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors removed the death penalty as a possible punishment, according to court records. Williams was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, court documents state.
During the plea hearing, Williams told the judge she was entering the plea freely, according to court records.
Afterward, one of her relatives publicly claimed she had been pressured into accepting the agreement.
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