45-Year-Old Man Who Allegedly Put 16-Year-Old Girlfriend’s Newborn In Dumpster Charged: Police

The five charges come over the weekend after one charge for abuse of a corpse was dismissed on Friday due to “lack of prosecution,” leaving some local citizens confused. James Boothe Jr. was purportedly seen placing a bag in the dumpster, with emergency responders later retrieving the body of a newborn infant from that same dumpster.

In a statement released on Monday, Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy explained. “Keep in mind that when charges are dismissed in general sessions it does not preclude us from still pursuing an indictment and moving forward as more evidence becomes available,” he said.

That statement came alongside five new charges, including two counts of trafficking for a commercial sex act, one for promoting prostitution of a minor between ages 12 and 18, one for continuous sexual abuse of a child, and finally one for aggravated statutory rape.

“We are continuing to look at the evidence related to the abuse of a corpse allegation for a potential indictment,” Mulroy added in his comments to the charges.

Memphis Police responded to a call at 9 a.m. on January 27. When they arrived, a 16-year-old girl flagged them down and reported that a man named “James” had just dropped her off, as detailed by NBC affiliate WMC.

She also told them she’d given birth two hours ago.

According to the arrest affidavit for Boothe, who was later identified by police as the “James” the teen was referring, the girl said that she was in labor and he was driving her to a hospital that morning when she gave birth in the car.

She said that Boothe removed the newborn baby from the seat, placed her in a black plastic bag, and then put her in a dumpster behind a Shell gas station.

Firefighters subsequently returned to the gas station about two-and-a-half hours after the baby’s birth, per WMC, and were able to recover the infant’s remains inside the plastic bag.

While authorities have not revealed the cause of death, CrimeOnline reports the baby was believed to be dead at birth.

The teen told police that she and the man had been involved in a romantic relationship for the past three years, per the affidavit.

Security footage from a nearby business detailed in court documents by Fox affiliate WHBQ reportedly showed a man fitting Boothe’s description arriving at the Shell station in a dark Infiniti SUV, exiting the vehicle, and placing a black plastic bag in the dumpster. Boothe was later IDed as the owner of the vehicle.

Boothe remains in custody and is being held on a $1.25 million bond.