Man, 45, accused of putting deceased newborn in dumpster after 16-year-old girlfriend gave birth

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (TCN) -- A 45-year-old man is in custody after he was allegedly caught putting a newborn in a gas station dumpster after his underage girlfriend gave birth to his child.

On Jan. 27 at 9:07 a.m., the Memphis Police Department received a call about suspicious activity on Teakrock Lane and soon learned about a juvenile who had just given birth. She was reportedly en route to the hospital when she had the child, and the man she was with, James Boothe, allegedly placed the child in a dumpster. Officers responded to a business on East Shelby Drive and located the child, who was deceased.

Police arrested Boothe the next day on a charge of abuse of a corpse.

WREG-TV reports the man who owns the business where the child was found said he noticed Boothe on security footage throwing something into the large trash receptacle. He told WREG, "I go jump in the garbage and took the bag out and hand it over to the fire department. They look at it and there is a body inside."

Boothe was reportedly in a relationship with the 16-year-old girl who gave birth. According to WREG, she admitted to police that they had been together for three years.

Shelby County Jail records show Boothe is being held on $250,000 bond.

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