Carlos Jimenes Martins appeared thrilled Wednesday as he was handed the daughter he didn't know he had after a monthslong battle to show he was her father.
A newborn baby who was left in a Boca Raton, Florida, dumpster has been reunited with her birth father.
Carlos Jimenes Martins said he never even knew his girlfriend was pregnant. But he appeared thrilled Wednesday as he was handed the daughter he didn't know he had after a monthslong battle to show he was her father. DNA finally proved it.
"God makes us strong, and we’re very happy,” Martins told WPBF in Spanish “I’m going to name her Sara."
It's a happy ending to a rough start for the little girl.
Authorities said Rafaelle Sousa gave birth at home and then allegedly placed her infant daughter in a trash bag, along with coffee grinds and other garbage, and left her in a dumpster on May 8. The baby was later found after her cries drew the attention of two nearby maintenance workers, the Sun Sentinel reported.
Sousa was ultimately identified as the mother thanks to a receipt she left in the trash bag among the garbage, according to the Palm Beach Post.
“How can a mother do this?” Sousa allegedly told a neighbor as authorities searched the apartment complex where she lived and near where the baby was found.
According to authorities, however, Sousa went back twice to check if the infant was dead.
She has been charged with attempted felony murder and has pleaded not guilty.
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