A 25-year-old woman was arrested Friday morning, March 10, on suspicion of abandoning her newborn baby boy in a trash can at a Chevron gas station in Fullerton, authorities said.
The Fullerton resident was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and felony child abuse after Fullerton police served a search warrant in the 400 block of West Orangethorpe Avenue, about five blocks east of the station on the southeast corner of Orangethorpe and Euclid Street, Sgt. Ryan O’Neil said.
Detectives found surveillance footage at the gas station that showed a physical description of the suspected mother and learned of possible vehicle information, which helped then identify the woman, O’Neil said.
Police were called to the gas station about 3:30 p.m. Thursday after the newborn was found, Lt. Tim Kandler said. It wasn’t known if a gas station employee or a customer found the baby boy.
The baby was crying, but otherwise in good health, Kandler said. He was taken to a hospital.
Whether the woman gave birth inside the bathroom or walked in with the newborn and left him there was unclear, police said.
Under California’s Safe Haven Law, the parent of a newborn infant can anonymously surrender the baby within three days to a hospital emergency room or a designated fire station without facing arrest as long as the baby was not abused or neglected.
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