Jakayla Ashanti Williams (Dothan Police Department)
An Alabama woman charged with capital murder will face a prosecutor looking to put her to death after she allegedly killed her newborn baby by putting him in a trash compactor at a local dumpster.
Jakayla Ashanti Williams, 18, gave birth at home in August.
After her family realized she had delivered the child, the defendant allegedly told them a story about handing the boy over to a “red-headed” hospital worker earlier that month. Williams’ family, concerned for the newborn’s safety, then traveled with her to nearby Southeast Health Medical Center, demanding answers.
The replies that came were grim.
Hospital staff called the police to report the defendant’s mother’s inquiries. The Dothan Police Department followed up with questions of their own. Finding the responses lacking, investigators then reviewed surveillance footage. They allegedly found no evidence Williams had ever been to the hospital on the day in question.
After that, the defendant allegedly admitted to putting the baby in a blanket and then leaving him inside a dumpster – with an attached garbage compactor – at an apartment complex in the area, police claim. The child’s remains were found inside the dumpster – in a mattress protector and a duffel bag that had been zipped shut.
Williams said she did not want to be a mother at her age and that having a baby “cost too much money,” police said.
On Friday, during a preliminary hearing, the state announced they would be seeking the death penalty in Williams’ case, according to a courtroom report by Dothan-based ABC affiliate WDHN.
Williams’ defense said their client should be granted a reasonable bond so she can receive much-needed mental health treatment.
A prosecutor objected, reportedly calling Williams a “danger to every living-breathing child.”
During the hearing, defense attorney Clay Wadsworth disputed whether the child was alive when it was placed in the dumpster, asking if the state had any evidence to support that claim.
A full autopsy report for the child has not been released by state authorities as of this writing.
The defense attorney argued the events of Aug. 13 are something of a mystery but that his client is a high school graduate who got good grades and doesn’t have a record.
“She is still a child,” Wadsworth told the court.
Prosecutors said the defense was worried about the wrong child and chastised the gallery for supporting the defendant.
Houston County District Judge Benjamin Lewis held off on any major decisions – submitting the case to a grand jury and telling both sides he would take bond arguments into consideration, WDNH reported.
Abortion has been banned in Alabama since the state passed the Human Life Protection Act in 2019. That legislation only became criminally enforceable in 2022 after the conservative U.S. Supreme Court overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in the landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Brandi Buchman contributed to this report.
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