Infant found dead near dumpster in Fort Worth, police investigating

The Fort Worth Police Department has launched an investigation after officers say an infant was found dead near a dumpster late Sunday night.

Officers responded to the 7300 block of Camp Bowie West Boulevard for an investigation call. Officers arrived and found the infant next to the dumpster. The address provided by the police lists a motel.

"We discovered a baby in a bag near a dumpster last night, and it is very unfortunate because we do have resources available for citizens or for any parent or anybody that is going through a tough situation," said Cynthia Wood, the public information officer for FWPD.

Detectives from the Crimes Against Children Unit were notified. Details are limited at this point.

"Due to the cameras that are all over the place, I'm sure that we're going to be able to find who did this," Wood said.

Wood later said Avia Cantrell, 23, has been charged with capital murder of a person under 10 years old. And according to jail records, Camron Baker, 26, who has been identified as Cantrell's boyfriend, was arrested on an abuse of a corpse charge.

Baby Moses Law

To prevent situations like this, first responders want everyone to know that resources are available.

"Here in Fort Worth, every one of our Fort Worth fire stations is what we call a safe place," said Craig Trojacek, the public information officer for the Fort Worth Fire Department.

In Texas, under the Baby Moses Law, parents who are unable to care for a newborn can surrender a baby 60 days old or younger without fear of prosecution.

"We want the public to know if you're in any type of distress, any kind of mental health, you feel like you can't take that child, please come by the station, drop the baby or the child," Trojacek said. "We have amazing community partners that we work with to make sure that we can keep that child's best interest."

In Tarrant County, parents can also text 211 Texas for resources.

"We want to be the beacon for those individuals," said Trojacek. "It's something we're trained on. It's something we take a lot of pride in ... It's who we are. We can't necessarily explain it, but we want to be there on somebody's worst day to try to fix and solve whatever problems they are having."

The investigation remains ongoing. No further details were immediately available.