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COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) — More details have emerged in the case of the newborn baby boy discovered in a dumpster behind a Columbus motel.
The Columbus Police Department reported that on September 2, officers were called to the Budgetel Inn and Suites on Victory Drive after a newborn was discovered in a dumpster.
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Police say the investigation that followed revealed the baby’s mother as 22-year-old Zinnia Hernandez.
Hernandez appeared in Recorder’s Court Friday afternoon, where more details emerged about the initial investigation.
Investigators revealed that Hernandez confessed immediately after being confronted by Columbus Police officers.
Sergeant Bradley Waldie stated that the infant had been in the dumpster for approximately 5 to 6 hours before a motel worker, alerted by the baby’s cries, found it. Waldie mentioned that the child was enclosed in two trash bags along with various pieces of refuse.
Hernandez is also mother of a 1-year-old daughter, who was taken into custody of the Georgia Department of Family and Children Services (DFACS).
Hernandez is being held on a $20,000 bond, facing charges of attempted murder, child abandonment, first-degree cruelty to children, and reckless conduct.
The Columbus Police Department emphasizes the importance of Georgia’s Safe Haven Law. This legislation permits a mother to leave an infant, aged up to 30 days, at designated places like hospitals, fire stations, or police stations, with personnel, without incurring any legal repercussions, protecting the newborn’s safety and welfare.
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