Metro Homicide investigates the death of premature baby in dumpster

GRANGER, Ind. -- A Granger female who had just given birth arrived at a local hospital late Saturday night, but without the baby. A short time later, a bag containing a deceased fetus was located in a trash dumpster behind a Granger restaurant.

St. Joseph County Police were called to the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Mishawaka around 11:30 p.m. Saturday night.

Hospital staff members told police a woman came into the ER to be treated and they discovered she had just given birth. When the staff questioned where the baby was, police say the woman claimed the baby was at her Granger home on Northhampton Drive.

The home is in an upscale neighborhood of Fox Chase in a large subdivision made up of close to 175 homes.

Police say when emergency first responders responded to the woman's home, there was no baby to be found.

The female later changed her story and told investigators that her baby was not at home, instead the baby was placed in a bag and was behind her parents’ restaurant in a dumpster.

Police found the fetus of an undeveloped baby in a trash dumpster close to midnight in the dumpster behind Moe's Southwest Grill on University Park Drive, the restaurant her family owns.

An autopsy should reveal whether the baby was alive when it was born.

Emergency responders who did not want to be identified who worked with the woman said the woman carried the baby for close to six months.

Metro Homicide is investigating. They confirmed they have search warrants for the woman's house, the car and the family's phones.

The autopsy has been completed, but the results have not been released.

Police will meet with prosecutors at 12:45 Monday to discuss possible charges.