Shortly after a 25-year-old woman was rushed to the hospital for severe abdominal pain, a newborn infant was found in a garbage can, covered in blood and soiled paper towels.
The infant’s mother, Rubi Ramirez, is accused of abandoning the newborn child under the guise of abdominal pain. Ramirez is now facing charges of abuse of a child without great bodily harm and desertion of a child.
According to an arrest report, Ramirez was rushed to the Broward Health Medical Center Emergency Room in early October for apparent abdominal pain. After she was admitted into a private room, Ramirez went to the bathroom while waiting to see her doctor.
Ramirez’s mother went to check on her and discovered blood all over her daughter’s clothing and inside the bathroom. Most of the blood was below her waist, according to an arrest report.
The hospital staff was called and soon after, the newborn baby was found concealed inside of the trash can. The baby was immediately transported to the hospital’s trauma center and is alive and breathing, according to doctors.
Ramirez initially denied knowing she was pregnant and told police the baby “fell” into the garbage. She also claimed the blood was from her menstrual cycle.
Later on, Ramirez admitted she knew she was pregnant and said she covered the newborn with paper towels before placing the baby in the trash, according to the arrest report. She agreed with police that placing an infant in a trash can lined with plastic is hazardous and would have ultimately resulted in the child’s death.
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Ramirez was taken into custody on Oct. 5. According to the Sun Sentinel, a judge granted her a $5,000 bond and ordered Ramirez not contact the child.
The Florida Department for Children and Families is investigating the incident and the child is now in foster care.
