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Teenage mother charged with abandoning baby

An 18-year-old woman has been charged after authorities say she left her newborn baby in a dumpster near Gulfton.

Everlida Cux-Ajtzalam is accused of abandoning a child without intent to return, a third-degree felony. According to court documents, Cux-Ajtzalam placed the child in a tied-up garbage bag after giving birth on the ground outside the food truck where she works. She claimed she had “no other choice” because she was afraid her boyfriend would break up with her.

“It was sheer luck that the child was found and cared for,” Judge Veronica Nelson said during Cux-Ajtzalam’s initial court appearance on Friday. “Given that this is the middle of summer in Houston, Texas, and the temperature at that time indicates danger to the child; under those circumstances, I’m going to set bail in this case at $90,000.”

The bail amount set by the judge is lower than what the Harris County Prosecutor’s Office had requested, which asked for Cux-Ajtzalam’s bail to be set at $150,000. Court documents also show that Cux-Ajtzalam had a previous arrest by Customs and Border Patrol in 2023 and that he has an intellectual disability.

Cux-Ajtzalam’s baby was discovered in the 6000 block of Dashwood Drive by a passerby who heard the child’s cries and called 911, KHOU reported. A Houston police spokesperson told the Chronicle that the baby was taken to Texas Children’s Hospital and is in good condition. Child Protective Services has since taken custody of the child.

The news came just a month after three other babies were found in Houston in June. Some social media users and activist groups said Texas’ abortion ban could be a contributing factor fueling the problem.

Others, however, like Republican Rep. Tom Oliverson, highlighted Texas’ Baby Moses Law. The law, signed into law in 1999, established designated locations where mothers in crisis could safely drop off their children at a fire station or hospital in the state of Texas.