An evil mother accused of abandoning her newborn inside a dumpster enclosure has been arrested after an investigation that lasted more than 16 months.

Officers found the baby crying in the rain next to a Riverside city dumpster with the umbilical cord still attached on May 4, 2025. Police believed the baby had been delivered just a few hours before. The infant was then transported to the hospital.

“On Sunday, May 4, 2025, at approximately 2:30 p.m., the City of Riverside’s Public Safety Communications Center received reports of a baby crying inside a dumpster enclosure at an apartment complex in the 3800 block of Jackson Street,” police wrote at the time.

“Responding officers discovered a newborn infant who had been found moments earlier by a resident. The baby was lying next to a dumpster, breathing and crying, with the umbilical cord still attached. The infant had been left uncovered and exposed to the rain.”

The Riverside Police Department has arrested the baby’s mother, 26-year-old Astrid Nohemi Lopez Ramos of Riverside Thursday, on a charge of child endangerment after an “extensive investigation” by detectives with Riverside PD’s Sexual Assault/Child Abuse division.

She’s currently being held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, California, and has a court date set for January 12th of next year in the Riverside Hall of Justice, according to records.

Her bail has been set at $35,000, police said.

Officials reminded residents of California’s Safely Surrendered Baby Law, which allows mothers to safely surrender a baby within 72 hours of birth with no questions asked. The law was crafted to prevent newborn deaths from abandonment.

Riverside Police asks anyone who may have information relevant to the investigation to please contact Detective Jessica Iniguez at (951) 353-7121 or Detective Jarid Zuetel at (951) 826-8714.

The city of Riverside is the county seat of Riverside County. It’s also the largest city in the Inland Empire region.

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