Baby’s body found in trash bin at Florida apartment complex by roofing workers

‘The guys were shook,’ the owner of the roofing company said. ‘No one expects something like that’

A crime scene investigator dusts for fingerprints at a large trash bin outside of an apartment complex in Hollywood, Florida, where construction workers found a dead baby on 8 January (AP)

Workers were preparing to replace the roof at an apartment complex in Florida when they made a horrific discovery.

A baby’s body was found inside a box in a trash bin outside the complex on Monday morning, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

Police responded to the 1700 block of Rodman Street in Hollywood, just south of Fort Lauderdale, around 8am.

They began lifesaving measures, but the baby was unresponsive, Hollywood police spokesperson Deanna Bettineschi said in a statement.

Ms Bettineschi said an investigation is underway, but offered no additional details about the baby.

John Mitala, who owns Infinity Roofing, told the newspaper that one of the workers spotted the box, which didn’t belong to the company, and opened it. They immediately called the police.

“The guys were shook,” Mr Mitala said. “No one expects something like that. It’s really affected the entire company.”

Police began lifesaving measures, but the baby was unresponsive (AP)

Roger Cote, an area resident, told CBS that the news was upsetting to him. He also recalled that the dumpster being there for several weeks.

“They change it once in a while. I’ve been here for 12 years and it’s the first time I’ve heard of something like this,” he said. “It’s unbelievable. It’s like if people don’t want a baby they could have gave it up to the firemen or leave it at a hospital.”

“It definitely hurts. (Some) people try to make babies but they can’t make babies, they can’t conceive. They could have placed it up for adoption,” he added.

Florida state law, supported and promoted by the Miami-based A Safe Haven, allows parents to surrender newborns to firefighters and hospital workers without giving their names, CBS reported.

“It’s just gut-wrenching and I’ve been here for 40 years,” Eugene Yakymiw, another area resident, said. “I never, never ever, we’ve never had things like this. I’m just like, I don’t know, it’s shocking, it’s disgusting.”