Charges filed against woman after newborn was found dead in back of a garbage truck in 2024: Sheriff
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) -- A woman has been arrested nearly a year after the death of her newborn baby, who was found in the back of a garbage truck in northwest Harris County.
On Monday, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Catherine Innes, 22, has been charged with tampering with a human corpse in the death of her newborn baby boy in 2024.
Jesus Martinez's body was found at about 9:30 a.m. on Aug. 14, 2024, in the 13200 block of Fountaincrest Court in the Chimney Hill subdivision.
Innes -- who lives doors down from the crime scene -- spoke to investigators that same day and admitted to being Martinez's mother, court documents indicate.
Deputies say Innes told them she gave birth in the shower three days before her son's body was discovered.
After giving birth, Innes told investigators she passed out. When she regained consciousness, she said she noticed her son wasn't breathing and placed his body in a trash bag along with her nightgown and some bloody towels.
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Investigators say she then admitted to putting the trash bag in an outdoor trash bag, where it sat for three days before it was picked up by a Best Trash crew.
At the time of the incident, the sheriff's office says the baby was anywhere from one day old to 30 days old.
According to a charging document, the boy's body had been partially crushed and was in the early stages of decomposition. Trash collectors told deputies they had been running the trash compactor.
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Records show Innes was booked into the Harris County Jail.
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