Mom Who Abandoned Newborn In North Austin Dumpster Charged

NORTH AUSTIN, TX — Police on Tuesday arrested the woman charged with abandoning a baby found in a trash dumpster at a North Austin apartment complex.

The arrest came on Tuesday morning, two weeks after a passerby found the newborn inside a dumpster along the 9600 block of Middle Fiskville Road at around 7 a.m. amid temperatures in the low 50s. Police identified the mother who abandoned her baby as Althea Johnson, 27, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

Once the baby was found, medics transported the infant in critical condition to Dell Children's Medical Center for treatment. The child has since been released from the hospital and returned to family members, according to reports.

Related story: Newborn Found In Dumpster At North Austin Apartment Complex

While the arrest came two weeks after the baby was found, police noted they had identified the culprit as early as the day after the discovery. But they refrained from identifying her publicly until formal charges were filed, a police spokeswoman said.

Abandoning a child in this fashion is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Texas adheres to the Safe Haven law, also known as the Baby Moses law, which gives parents unable or unwilling to care for a child the opportunity to drop them off at a designated place — an EMS station, fire house, hospital and the like — without facing charges.

>>> Read the full story at Austin American-Statesman

Althea Johnson booking photo via Austin Police Department