Woman 'Double Bagged' a Baby Before Abandoning Him in a Motel Dumpster, Say Police. Then, a Stranger Heard the Newborn’s Cries By Bailey Richards

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, someone heard crying coming from a dumpster at a Georgia motel.

The witness contacted police, and around 6:30 p.m. local time, officers arrived at Budgetel Inn & Suites Columbus, where a newborn baby was discovered in the dumpster, the Columbus Georgia Police Department (CGPD) said in a press release. After an “extensive investigation,” police said, they arrested the infant’s mother, Zinnia Hernandez.

Hernandez, 22, “admitted to giving birth and placing the infant in the dumpster,” Columbus police said in the press release.

In courtroom footage captured by ABC affiliate WTVM, an investigator recalled asking “her if she knew why we were there and she stated probably because of the baby being in the dumpster was her guess.” Hernandez — who had been living in the motel for several months, according to the outlet — then told authorities that she was “not going to lie to us, she did it,” the same investigator said in the footage.

The 22-year-old — who had one child prior to the newborn infant — told investigators that she gave birth to the baby, a boy, in the bathtub of her motel room in the morning of Tuesday, Sept. 2, according to WTVM. She also told investigators that nobody knew she was pregnant, the outlet said.

She later placed the newborn in the dumpster after coming back from doing laundry that morning, say police — meaning the infant was in the trash for several hours, according to WTVM.

“She opened a white and blue trash bag, placed the baby, placenta, and the cord all in the trash bag,” Sgt. B Waldie, who led the case, told WTVM. She then “tied that bag and then placed it into an additional white and blue bag,” Waldie said. “The child was double bagged and placed into the dumpster for about five and a half to six hours.”

Waldie and the CGPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

The infant boy was taken to a local hospital, Piedmont Columbus Regional, for treatment and is “in stable condition,” the CGPD said. In the courtroom footage shared by WTVM, authorities said that the newborn was “fine,” but “just needed additional oxygen.”

Hernandez was charged with criminal attempt murder, abandonment of a child, cruelty to children in the first degree and reckless conduct, the CGPD said. The investigation remains ongoing.

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In the press release, police also reminded the public of Georgia’s Safe Haven Law.

The law, the CGPD said, “allows a mother to leave her baby, up to 30 days old, at a hospital, fire station or police station without facing criminal charges, as long as the infant is left with staff. This law exists to ensure the safety and well-being of newborns.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.