Fort Worth woman charged with capital murder after infant found in dumpster

Avia Cantrell, 23, has been arrested on suspicion of capital murder after the body of her newborn daughter was discovered in a dumpster near a Fort Worth motel. The infant was found on October 18 by a woman searching for items near the Drummers Inn on Camp Bowie West Boulevard.

According to police reports and arrest affidavits, Cantrell admitted to drowning the infant in a bathtub at the motel, where she had been living with her boyfriend, 26-year-old Camron Baker, and three other children. Cantrell stated she left the baby face down in the water for approximately 30 minutes. The couple reportedly kept the infant's body in a bag for four days before Baker discarded it in the dumpster.

Baker has been arrested on suspicion of abuse of a corpse. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released the official cause of death. The Fort Worth Police Department’s crimes against children unit is leading the investigation.