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Newborn boy's body found amid tons of trash | KOMO News - Seattle, Washington | News
GRAHAM, Wash. -- Authorities combing through 60 tons of trash at a dump site Monday found the body of a baby boy who was allegedly killed and put in a garbage can in Port Angeles.
A 16-year-old girl was arrested Friday for investigation of first-degree murder. Her father, 41-year-old Ronald Last, was arrested for investigation of concealing the birth by disposing of the body. She was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of first- or second-degree murder. Her father was being held at the county jail.
In court on Monday, a judge set bail at $500,000 for the teenage mother and $10,000 for her father.
Prosecutor Deborah S. Kelly said a hearing on charges against her was scheduled Wednesday, and she will be charged as an adult.
In court documents, Port Angeles police wrote that after being born to the teenager early Tuesday, the baby boy was held face down in a toilet by his young mother until he drowned. The boy's body was put in a plastic bag and placed in a trash can outside, the documents said.
The trash was picked up the next day, and garbage from Wednesday was in two containers that were taken to a site in Graham, about eight miles southeast of Tacoma in Pierce County, officials said.
Investigators say Last, who insists he did not know his daughter was pregnant, saw the body in the trash can but didn't say anything and let garbage collectors take the contents away.
Port Angeles police Chief Terry Gallagher told The Associated Press that Tacoma police, Pierce County sheriff's deputies and investigators from a State Patrol crime laboratory were helping his officers sift through the contents of the containers at the site.
"They have quite literally a mountain of garbage to go through ... 60 tons," Gallagher said. "We've never really had to do that before."
The garbage containers were intercepted before they could be emptied as usual at a transfer station in Tacoma and were taken to Graham, where there was more room to use heavy machinery to help comb through the contents, the police chief said.
"We believe that it is at least somewhat compacted," he said. "The machines will slowly pick through the garbage with the investigators nearby."
At about 2:30 p.m., the two dozen investigators picking through the trash came to a standstill as the body was found in trash from the first container that was emptied.
Gallagher told the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles that a woman came to the police station Friday and said she had seen a baby in a trash can in an alley behind the girl's house, but the can was empty when officers arrived.
Neighbor Richard Priest said he knew the girl was pregnant.
"The last night, she was whining and whimpering all night," he said of the teen.
"It was ugly, seriously ugly when we woke up in the morning and saw the aftermath," Priest said of the situation.
"This is a very sad case," Gallagher said. "I think it is particularly tragic that this girl had so little support that she wasn't able to recognize any other option than what happened."
He said investigators believe the girl delivered the baby at the home at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. She was provided with medical care before she was incarcerated.
"I don't believe that she had any medical care before we took her into custody," Gallagher said.
During a search of the home, police found what first appeared to be a pipe bomb but turned out to be a device that can be attached to the bottom of a car for transporting illegal drugs, "a fairly common method," he said.
Last has an extensive court record with civil and criminal cases dating from 1985 in King, Snohomish, Kitsap and Clallam counties, Gallagher said.
Information on his felony conviction or convictions was not immediately available, but Gallagher said, "We've dealt with him for years."
Four other men and several other juveniles also lived at the house, he added.
The 16 year old moved from Pueblo, Colo., where her mother lives, to her father's home in Port Angeles in October. Law enforcement in Pueblo has been contacted, and investigators have determined that the father of the baby is a man in his 30s.
Investigators said the teen became pregnant while living in Colorado.
Gallagher said forensic tests are planned, and DNA results to establish the infant's parentage may not be available for weeks.
GRAHAM, Wash. -- Authorities combing through 60 tons of trash at a dump site Monday found the body of a baby boy who was allegedly killed and put in a garbage can in Port Angeles.
A 16-year-old girl was arrested Friday for investigation of first-degree murder. Her father, 41-year-old Ronald Last, was arrested for investigation of concealing the birth by disposing of the body. She was being held in juvenile detention for investigation of first- or second-degree murder. Her father was being held at the county jail.
In court on Monday, a judge set bail at $500,000 for the teenage mother and $10,000 for her father.
Prosecutor Deborah S. Kelly said a hearing on charges against her was scheduled Wednesday, and she will be charged as an adult.
In court documents, Port Angeles police wrote that after being born to the teenager early Tuesday, the baby boy was held face down in a toilet by his young mother until he drowned. The boy's body was put in a plastic bag and placed in a trash can outside, the documents said.
The trash was picked up the next day, and garbage from Wednesday was in two containers that were taken to a site in Graham, about eight miles southeast of Tacoma in Pierce County, officials said.
Investigators say Last, who insists he did not know his daughter was pregnant, saw the body in the trash can but didn't say anything and let garbage collectors take the contents away.
Port Angeles police Chief Terry Gallagher told The Associated Press that Tacoma police, Pierce County sheriff's deputies and investigators from a State Patrol crime laboratory were helping his officers sift through the contents of the containers at the site.
"They have quite literally a mountain of garbage to go through ... 60 tons," Gallagher said. "We've never really had to do that before."
The garbage containers were intercepted before they could be emptied as usual at a transfer station in Tacoma and were taken to Graham, where there was more room to use heavy machinery to help comb through the contents, the police chief said.
"We believe that it is at least somewhat compacted," he said. "The machines will slowly pick through the garbage with the investigators nearby."
At about 2:30 p.m., the two dozen investigators picking through the trash came to a standstill as the body was found in trash from the first container that was emptied.
Gallagher told the Peninsula Daily News in Port Angeles that a woman came to the police station Friday and said she had seen a baby in a trash can in an alley behind the girl's house, but the can was empty when officers arrived.
Neighbor Richard Priest said he knew the girl was pregnant.
"The last night, she was whining and whimpering all night," he said of the teen.
"It was ugly, seriously ugly when we woke up in the morning and saw the aftermath," Priest said of the situation.
"This is a very sad case," Gallagher said. "I think it is particularly tragic that this girl had so little support that she wasn't able to recognize any other option than what happened."
He said investigators believe the girl delivered the baby at the home at about 3 a.m. Tuesday. She was provided with medical care before she was incarcerated.
"I don't believe that she had any medical care before we took her into custody," Gallagher said.
During a search of the home, police found what first appeared to be a pipe bomb but turned out to be a device that can be attached to the bottom of a car for transporting illegal drugs, "a fairly common method," he said.
Last has an extensive court record with civil and criminal cases dating from 1985 in King, Snohomish, Kitsap and Clallam counties, Gallagher said.
Information on his felony conviction or convictions was not immediately available, but Gallagher said, "We've dealt with him for years."
Four other men and several other juveniles also lived at the house, he added.
The 16 year old moved from Pueblo, Colo., where her mother lives, to her father's home in Port Angeles in October. Law enforcement in Pueblo has been contacted, and investigators have determined that the father of the baby is a man in his 30s.
Investigators said the teen became pregnant while living in Colorado.
Gallagher said forensic tests are planned, and DNA results to establish the infant's parentage may not be available for weeks.
