Newborn Baby Found Dead In Busy Street Was Allegedly Dumped By Occupants Of A Car

The body of a newborn baby was found dumped in a busy street of South Africa's Cape Town on Wednesday. The authorities believe the baby was dumped there by occupants of a vehicle.

Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed the body was found by a passer-by in Plein Street near Parliament. The baby was wrapped in a plastic bag, with only its face visible, News 24 reported.

Eyewitnesses said the body had been in the road for a long time before authorities removed it.

A concealment of birth case was registered by the police, Twigg said, adding they were investigating the incident. The identities of the occupants in the car have not been determined yet. It was most likely the baby was already dead at the time of being dumped. However, authorities haven't confirmed the same.

Cape Town-based attorney and conveyancer Tom Potgieter told News 24 he had been on his way to lodge some documents at the deeds' office when he saw police officers and bystanders in the road where the body was lying.

"I then rolled my window down and asked a bystander why all the cops are there, and the man said there was an infant that was thrown out of a white Polo car, and left the infant in the middle of the tarred parking bay in Plein Street, which is diagonal across the road from the deeds office," he said. "I then spotted the infant’s head sticking out from what looked like a black plastic bag."

Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111, the police said, according to Cape Town ETC.

No arrests have been made so far in the case, authorities said.

Last month in New Mexico, an 18-year-old woman was arrested after she was caught on camera abandoning a newborn baby in a dumpster. The Hobbs Police Department shared a post on Facebook about the incident and revealed the woman, Alexis Avila, who was arrested on two felony charges. Avila reportedly confessed to giving birth in another location and leaving the baby in the dumpster. She was arrested and charged with an attempt to commit murder and child abuse. Both are first-degree felonies.