18-year-old American mother charged with Capital murder after dumping her own newborn child into trash compactor 

Baby dies after  Jakayla Ashanti Williams places it in trash compactor

By Edward Era Barbacena 

An 18-year-old mother was charged with capital murder after authorities said she threw her newborn baby in a trash compactor.

Jakayla Ashanti Williams, 18, of Dothan, told her family that she dropped the baby off at Southeast Health Medical Center, said Will Benny, the city’s police chief, during a Thursday news conference.

Her family became concerned for the child, Benny said, and contacted the hospital to make sure the baby was OK.

They learned that Williams did not drop off the child at the hospital, which then contacted police, Benny said.

Police determined Williams gave birth around 7 a.m. Aug. 13.

A few hours later, she went to an apartment complex on Dothan’s west side “and placed a newborn in a trash compactor,” Benny said.

Authorities recovered the load of trash the baby was in and recovered the newborn’s body.

Benny said Williams told police she threw the child in the compactor because “she didn’t want the child.”

“It’s just incredible to even believe because she knew, obviously, she could take a child, a newborn, to the hospital and drop it off,” the chief said. “But she chose not to do that.”

Benny called the allegations against Williams, who is facing a count of capital murder, “truly shocking.”

“In 27 years in law enforcement I never even heard of anything like this,” he said. “I never even heard of something as horrific as this. It shock the mind, it shocks the soul. I don’t really know what else to say.”

Benny said the child’s father received the same information as Williams’ family — that the baby was dropped off at the hospital.

No attorney was listed for Williams in court records.