Woman, man charged over dead newborn in dumpster

Two months after a roofing worker found the body of a baby boy in a Hollywood dumpster, the baby’s mother and a man police say disposed of the body are facing criminal charges.

Brenda Feliciano, 36, was already in jail on unrelated charges and is now charged with failure to report a death, while Terence Briggance Warren, 60, was arrested Thursday on charges of failure to report a death and improper disposal of a body.

The cause of the baby’s death remains unknown: Medical examiners saw no signs of foul play or decomposition but were still testing to determine whether he was born alive, police say.

Police went to the dumpster the morning of Jan. 8 after receiving a 911 call from a supervisor at the roofing company, who said that an employee had discovered the body in a bag in the dumpster in the 1700 block of Rodman Street, according to a probable cause affidavit.

“Yes, good morning. I am calling because one of my job sites, we’re a roofing company, we have a found a child in a dumpster,” the caller said.

The roofing employee who discovered the baby told detectives that he had noticed that the garbage chute from the roof to the dumpster was clogged, and when he went to unclog it, he smelled a “foul odor,” according to the affidavit. He then saw the bag with the baby inside and told his supervisor.

Fire Rescue found the baby in a reusable Aldi shopping bag, which they removed from the dumpster, pronouncing him dead on scene. He looked healthy with no signs of trauma, injury, or decomposition, first responders and medical examiners found. His umbilical cord was still attached, and the shopping bag also contained the placenta, blood, and other “products of conception.”

The medical examiner’s office conducted an autopsy, according to the affidavit, which also did not show any signs of trauma. They said the cause of death remained undetermined and were performing tests, including toxicology, to try to figure out if the baby was born alive or stillborn.

Video surveillance taken outside of the dumpster showed a man later identified as Warren stop a vehicle, get out, reach into the passenger window and throw a bag into the dumpster, according to the affidavit. Warren lives a block away from the dumpster.

Detectives met with Warren, who allowed them to search his car and cellphone. On Jan. 2, a contact saved as “F. Brenda” texted Warren, “I’m almost F ******* 40 weeks pregnant. What are you talking about!”