Detroit mother charged after newborn baby found dead in dumpster

A 31-year-old Detroit woman faces felony charges after investigators found the decomposed body of a newborn baby boy inside a dumpster on the city's east side.Watch Randy Wimbley's video report: Detroit police were dispatched just before 11 a.m. on July 8 to an area near 7 Mile and Runyon, where officers found a blue tote inside a dumpster behind an apartment building. Inside the tote was the seriously decomposed body of a newborn baby boy wrapped in a white sheet.Investigators identified the child's mother as 31-year-old Daysiana Powell. According to investigators, Powell hid the death of the newborn and never contacted authorities.The Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has charged Powell with concealing the death of an individual, a felony. If convicted, she could face up to five years in prison.Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy released a statement on the case."It is hard to put into words the abject sadness of this case. The alleged actions of this defendant will haunt everyone involved for a very long time. May this baby have a proper final resting place and be in peace," Worthy said.Neighbors who live in the area said they were shocked and heartbroken by the discovery.Leslie Wilkins, who lives in the apartment building where police made the discovery, reacted to the news."You never know what a person going through, man. You never know what a person got going on in real life, you know, you can see a person smiling all day, but it's a whole other side to it, you know what I mean?" Wilkins said.When asked what it was like hearing about the discovery, Wilkins did not hold back."I mean, I get it. It's the east side, a lot of crazy stuff happened, but not nothing like to that extent, you get what I'm saying," Wilkins said.Another neighbor, Chad Osama, expressed grief over the loss of the child's potential."Just heartbroken and figured out a newborn baby that could have been good in this lifetime and did something right. Instead, it sat there and rot and nobody knew," Osama said.Osama also reflected on the circumstances surrounding Powell's alleged actions."Never know what that person was doing or didn't know what to do at that time, so, right, that just broke my heart hearing that," Osama said.I spoke by phone with members of Powell's family. Many said they were devastated by the allegations and said they would have helped her if she had asked.Powell's probable cause conference is scheduled for July 21, and her preliminary examination is scheduled for July 28. ———————————————————————————————This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.