LOS ANGELES, CA. (THECOUNT) — Takiyah Babers, 19, of Los Angeles, has been arrested on suspicion of murder after her 4-month-old daughter Luna was found unresponsive inside a trash bin in the Central Alameda neighborhood of South Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
LAPD said officers responded around 10:30 p.m. Monday, September 28, to the 5200 block of Alba Street after receiving a report that a female infant had been found inside a trash bin. The child was discovered wrapped in a blanket and was transported by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
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Police said the LAPD Juvenile Division-Abused Child Section investigated the circumstances surrounding the infant’s death and identified Babers as the suspect. She was taken into custody without incident Tuesday and booked for murder under California Penal Code section 187(a).
Babers is the biological mother of the child, according to police. Her bail was set at $2 million, and the case is expected to be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for filing consideration.
The discovery began when a person who was dumping trash reportedly noticed what appeared to be a body inside the dumpster and called 911. Los Angeles police said the infant was found wrapped in a blanket.
A woman who was at the scene Tuesday morning told KTLA that she initially believed the infant was a doll. The baby was reportedly wearing shorts and gloves when she was discovered.
The infant’s name has not been released by LAPD. However, a GoFundMe fundraiser created to help pay for the baby’s funeral identifies her as Luna, and a Tuesday evening vigil was held near Holmes Avenue and 52nd Street in her memory.
Babers’ foster parents, Herman Johnson and Laura Lacy, told KTLA they had been caring for the infant and believed the child was Babers’ daughter. Lacy said the baby had been in their care since she was approximately 2 weeks old.
Johnson and Lacy described a series of changing accounts from Babers concerning who had possession of the infant. Johnson said Babers had previously asked them to take the baby because she was having difficulty caring for her.
Lacy was visibly upset after Babers was taken away in handcuffs and said she wanted an explanation for what happened to the child. She and Johnson later left the scene to assist investigators and go to the medical examiner’s office.
The investigation remains active, and authorities have not publicly released a cause or manner of death beyond the homicide investigation. Police also have not disclosed what investigators believe happened to the infant before she was placed in the trash bin.
The case is being investigated by detectives assigned to the LAPD Juvenile Division’s Abused Child Section. Anyone with information is asked to contact the unit at 213-486-0530. Anonymous tips may also be submitted through Los Angeles Regional Crime Stoppers.
Central Alameda is a neighborhood in South Los Angeles, within Los Angeles County and the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. The reported crime scene is in the area south of downtown Los Angeles and near the Central-Alameda and Florence-Graham communities.
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