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AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department announced the arrest of a suspect in relation to a baby discovered abandoned in a dumpster in north Austin on Saturday. The affidavit identifies the suspect as the child’s mother.
An arrest affidavit, reviewed by local affiliate KXAN, indicates that 22-year-old Neli Dinora Rivera-Felipe was taken into custody and charged with abandoning/endangering a child involving imminent danger, classified as a second-degree felony.
Investigators were able to link Rivera-Felipe to the case using surveillance video and information obtained from residents of the apartment complex where the infant was found.
Rivera-Felipe opted to waive her rights to an attorney and to silence during a police interview. She admitted to detectives that she gave birth to the child on Friday, Sept. 19, in the apartment’s bathroom, as per the affidavit.
“[Rivera-Felipe] stated she was frightened and uncertain about how to care for the baby. She described the infant as unresponsive and not moving,” according to the affidavit.
The court documents reveal that she then confessed to placing the baby in a white bucket, moving the child into one dumpster, and disposing of the bucket in another dumpster.
According to the affidavit, a white bucket was found in a ditch with “what appeared to be blood and hair inside.”
On Saturday, APD said the baby was found safe in the 8600 block of North Lamar Boulevard at around 1:36 p.m. with no health issues present at the time. The baby was taken to Dell Children’s Medical Center and was placed into Child Protective Services, police said.
As of Thursday morning, Rivera-Felipe is in custody on a $50,000 bond, according to Travis County jail records. KXAN will reach out to her attorney and update this story when we receive a response.
According to a KXAN report, Texas lawmakers passed the Safe Haven Law in 1999, giving parents unable to care for their child the option to leave them unharmed at hospitals, fire stations or EMS stations without consequences.
The Texas Safe Haven Law was adjusted in 2023 to include baby boxes, which are secured, temperature-regulated boxes connected to the inside of a safe-site location like a fire, EMS, police station or hospital.
There are several baby boxes in Texas, but none are in Austin.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services said there have been 11 Safe Haven surrenders so far this year. There were 14 in 2024.
Sam Stark contributed to this report
