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Written by: A. Smith
Published September 8, 2025 @ 8:46 AM ET
Update: A 22-year-old woman has been arrested after police say she placed her newborn son into a dumpster at a Columbus motel.
Columbus police identified the mother as Zinnia Hernandez. Investigators said she admitted to giving birth and then leaving the child in a dumpster at the Budgetel Inn on Victory Drive.
The baby was discovered after someone called 911 to report hearing cries from the dumpster. Emergency crews rushed the newborn to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital, where he remains in the neonatal intensive care unit. Police said the child is stable.
Hernandez has been charged with attempted murder, abandonment of a child, cruelty to children, and reckless conduct.
MUSCOGEE COUNTY, Ga. – Police in Columbus are investigating after a baby was discovered alive inside a dumpster at a motel Tuesday evening.
Authorities said the child was found shortly before 7 p.m. at the Budgetel Inn on Victory Drive after someone reported hearing cries coming from the dumpster.
The baby was taken by Community Ambulance to Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital. Police confirmed the child was alive at the time of discovery, but officials have not released the baby’s condition.
Witnesses at the scene reported a large police presence, with officers taping off the area around the dumpster in the motel parking lot as the investigation began.
The case is being handled by the Columbus Police Department’s Special Victims Unit.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Columbus police.