Mom Charged in Death of Newborn Found in Recycling Bin

An Eastpointe woman is being held on $1 million bond after her arraignment Wednesday on felony murder first-degree child abuse charges in the grisly death of her newborn son.

The newborn died on Christmas Eve, two days after his mother gave birth to him alone in a garage and allegedly abandoned him there. The infant’s nude body was found in a recycling bin wrapped in a torn black T-shirt by workers at a recycling center on Groesbeck in Roseville on Jan. 14.

Roseville Police Chief Berlin told The Detroit News that the baby’s mother, Angela Alexie, 24, said she wrapped the baby in cloth after his death in the garage, then and took his body to a storage shed in the back yard of parents’ home.

She said an unknown person must have placed the dead baby in the curbside recycling bin, whose contents ended up in the Dumpster at the recycling center.

Berlin said during proceedings in 38th District Court in Eastpointe that it appears the infant died of exposure and neglect.

“This baby must have suffered greatly,” the police chief told the Detroit Free Press in an interview after the arraignment.

Related:

• Police Arrest Woman in Death of Newborn Found in Recycling Bin
• Prosecutor: Mom Can’t Remember Where She Left Newborn
• Police: Link Between Dead Baby in Dumpster, Mom Who ‘Can’t Recall’ Newborn’s Whereabouts?

Alexie is homeless and was temporarily staying at a home on Gascony in Eastpointe, where she reportedly gave birth to the baby in the garage. During her arraignment, she told District Judge Carl F. Gerds III she doesn’t work and has never held down a job.

“She lives wherever her head hits the pillow,” Berlin said. “We have no idea who the father of the child is, and we don’t think she knows either.”

Roseville police Det. Brad McKenzie testified the baby remained alive in the unheated garage for a couple of days. Alexie reportedly left the house where she was staying every few hours to check on the baby before he died, MLive reports.

A not-guilty plea was entered on Alexie’s behalf. She doesn’t have a criminal record, according to media reports.

Police: Alexie Hid Pregnancies from Family and Friends

The infant is reportedly the second child that Alexie has given birth to alone. Her three other children are in foster care and she lost custody “some time in the past,” Berlin said.

Berlin said Alexie tried keep the birth of both babies a secret from her family and friends. He said he doesn’t know why she didn’t take advantage of Michigan’s no-questions-asked safe-haven law, which provides an alternative to abandonment and allows parents to surrender newborns within 72 hours of birth at a hospital, police or fire station, or by calling 911.

“You can do anything beyond throwing (the baby) into a Dumpster,” he said.

Tarah Bartman told the Free Press that Alexie, her friend, “is not a bad person,” but acknowledged she should have called for help.

Medical Examiner’s Office Gives Baby a Name

The Macomb County community has rallied around the infant, giving him the dignity of a name – Henry Alexander Macomb, after the county’s namesake, Gen. Alexander Macomb, and because employees at the county medical examiner’s office thought he looked like a Henry.

Several businesses and individuals have donated money for a funeral and burial for the baby. Services will be held at a later date.

Kaul Funeral Home in Roseville is donating its services for the infant, manager Timothy McGillen told The Detroit News earlier this month. It’s unclear when the funeral and burial in Resurrection Cemetery, 18201 Clinton River Road, in Clinton Township, will be held.

Rizzo Environmental Services and the Clinton Township Firefighters Association Local 11381 will buy a headstone for the baby’s grave.

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Photo via Roseville police