crime:

Girl found dead in trash bin near Convention Center

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

A Metro Police investigator points out a dead infant discovered inside a trash bin Wednesday behind the Kona Loha Sierra Apartments, 594 Sierra Vista Drive, near the Las Vegas Convention Center.

By Mary Manning (contact)

Published Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | 4:16 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, June 10, 2009 | 7:01 p.m.

Toddler found dead in trash bin

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Baby found dead

A baby girl was found dead in a trash bin near the Las Vegas Convention Center this afternoon.

Metro Police homicide detectives and abuse and neglect officers are investigating after the baby was found in the trash bin in an open parking lot at the back of the Kona Loa apartment complex at 594 Sierra Vista Drive, Metro Police spokeswoman Officer Barbara Morgan said.

The baby's body was found about 4 p.m. Police said the girl was between 1 and 2 years old.

Lt. Lew Roberts, chief of Metro's homicide detectives, said a man going through the items in the bin found the infant wrapped in something, perhaps a sheet. The man flagged down an officer in a patrol car in the neighborhood.

The trash bin was in an open parking lot at the back of the apartment complex. Police officers blocked off the area with yellow crime scene tape.

This is not the first case of a child being dumped in a trash bin in the Las Vegas Valley.

On Jan. 12, 2007, a man called police and said he had found the body of a dead child in a trash bin at an apartment complex at 2800 S. Eastern Ave., near Karen Drive. It took police six weeks to identify 3-year-old Crystal Figueroa.

Her mother, 26-year-old Gladys Perez, and former boyfriend, 30-year-old Marc Anthony Colon, were convicted of killing Crystal. The mother is serving life in prison with the possibility of parole and Colon was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.

The child's grandmother, Lila Perez, filed a police report about the missing girl and later identified her from photos of her clothing.

Nevada has a Safe Haven law that allows parents of unwanted newborns to drop infants off at a hospital, fire station or church, police said.

Anyone with information about this crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (702) 385-5555. Callers may remain anonymous.

Discussion: 15 comments so far…

By LasVegas2009

6/10/09 at 5:17 p.m.

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Its a bad day to be a kid in Las Vegas.
By rejco100

6/10/09 at 5:47 p.m.

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Your city just keeps on getting sicker & sicker every hour.
By cisea

6/10/09 at 6:06 p.m.

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Check out Tri-Cities Herald (WA). Police are investigating a baby found in a porta-potty. Only this time they have the Mother that did it in custody. Migrant worker.
By casinokid

6/10/09 at 6:30 p.m.

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They are humans not trash! this statement is ment for any one person that throws away a human.
By Sinatra711

6/10/09 at 6:36 p.m.

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Do you know how many people are on wait lists to adopt kids? And people are throwing away unwanted kids in trash cans! Really disheartening news.

S711
By rejco100

6/10/09 at 7:34 p.m.

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The social services have got to change from the very start a person walks in the door needing help; now a desperate woman walks through the door and the case worker says "What do you want & NO! You're not qualified"! It needs to be "Hi, thanks for coming in, how may I help you & Yes, we can help you, let's get started now"
By stevem

6/10/09 at 8:41 p.m.

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i'm just a prom night dumpster baby. i got no mom or dad. prom night dumpster baby. my story isn't long, but boy, it's awfully sad.
By bdover

6/10/09 at 10:03 p.m.

Comment removed by staff.
By truethat

6/10/09 at 11:08 p.m.

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So, another child victim in Nevada. While this is not just a Nevada problem, we could be much smarter about dealing with the causes and prevention of such issues. This situation helps show the need for better services for kids and families in need (noted by rejco100) at a time when our so very wise public officials are calling for millions of dollars in cuts in Child Welfare. Not to mention the horrific state of funding for education in Nevada. But according to Monday's Sun the article "Stimulus flow starting here as a trickle" where WILL we be able to get and spend money for someone's pet projects? In the form of stimulus funds and grants for park-and-rides, dedicated bus lanes from downtown Henderson to downtown Las Vegas, and most importantly JOGGING PATHS and SHADE STRUCTURES in parks!!! Who will use these jogging paths? Last I knew, you could jog just about anywhere without the need for a plush path some fat cat wants. Build new park-and-rides? For whom? The unemployed so they can car pool or catch a bus from downtown Henderson to downtown Las Vegas and sit in the new shade shelter at a park surrounded by foreclosed homes? Let's get real folks, starting with Washington where they give out the money for some of this stupidity. Spend the money where it will really be useful and think outside the box for some of this other nonsense. Like create jobs. Like, maybe, instead of park-and-rides, we can contract with some of the huge stores, such as the Sears at Warm Springs, and use their huge empty parking lots. Especially during daytime, working hours, those few who can afford to shop, do not nearly begin to fill all the parking spaces they have. Ditto for the Galleria Mall. Some much asphalt, so little shopping. But we need to spend scarce taxpayer money (which it all is ultimately) on new parking spaces??? What does this have to do with a baby in the trash? We have more serious people issues to spend our money on instead of wasting it for asphalt and such nonsense. PS - We need a state lottery and sales of scratch tickets such as they have in Arizona and California to bring in money. It works and we should not be afraid that it might compete with Casino interests. It would not...
By raquel

6/10/09 at 11:21 p.m.

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what is this world coming to i live here and have a 1 year old babys are angels please ive left a memorial for this baby girl if you want to pray for her and take care of your kids and love them or find someone who will dont kill them
By Mandy

6/11/09 at 8:11 a.m.

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rejco100

You're an idiot!! There are sick people EVERYWHERE in this country and the same heinous crimes happen throughout the country on a daily basis. Crawl out from under you rock and Read OTHER newspapers from other cities once in awhile and become informed. Then you won't look like a moron by singling out Las Vegas.
By rejco100

6/11/09 at 10:07 a.m.

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Mandy, they found your baby, but you know that now.
By smoke14

6/11/09 at 7:07 p.m.

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how many of you that are upset on here about this incident are proabortion?? I am sure a few....this makes me sick...tell me what is the differnce...both are murder
By MysterMr

6/12/09 at 11:42 a.m.

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Hey Smoke14, the difference is that one is viable and one isn't. Perhaps had this unwanted child been aborted BEFORE it actually was a child, we wouldn't be writing right now. You're probably against birth control as well. And you're probably a man. BTW, News flash.. NOBODY is "PRO-ABORTION". Reading your post reinforces my pro-choice stance. Not quite to the level of the family across from me with 13 kids (which we all get to support via our tax dollars), but you're close.

Truethat, yes, dead baby - so let's throw money somewhere. That will surely stop morons from throwing babies in dumpsters. Without knowing anything about this case, you're advocating pumping millions of dollars into welfare services and the CCSD both of which have nothing to do with babies or dumpsters (the possible exception of the CCSD who seemingly dumps the mad amounts of cash they receive in the trash every day). You're right, your comment has NOTHING to do with babies in the trash. Also, if you did your research you'd know that the CCSD "shortfall" is a scam anyway. They have plenty - Just ask any CCSD vendor. We are in agreement though that the stimulus cash is being wasted as well. Wasting it on welfare or "dedicated bus lanes" is pretty much the same thing though.