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Authorities say 22-year-old Zinnia Hernandez gave birth in a bathtub at the Budgetel Inn and Suites on Victory Drive on September 2, then placed her baby in trash bags and left him in a dumpster on the property.
The child was discovered nearly six hours later by maintenance worker Corey Davis, who spoke with WRBL News 3.
Davis says he believes God put everything in the right place at the right time, from the trash collector coming at different time than usual, to him throwing a piece of trash in the dumpster on his way out.
“I heard a cry, there was something in my heart telling me… it’s a shame if you can’t turn around and just go check to be sure,” Davis said. “I just seen a trash bag moving. It was scary, and the first thing I did was just rip the bag open and it was a baby. Baby was crying strong. That cry made me believe he was going to be all right.”
Davis says he hesitated at first thinking the noise came from a children’s toy. After deciding to check, he called for help from those around him and dove into the dumpster, where he found the child.
“A baby had no business in no trash can,” Davis told WRBL News 3. “That’s what hurt me the most… just seeing a newborn at the bottom of a trash can. I got kids myself… I can’t imagine nobody experiencing that.”
Authorities arrived quickly and the baby was rushed to Piedmont Columbus Regional, where he is recovering.
In court, Columbus Police Sergeant Bradley Waldie testified that Hernandez confessed when confronted by investigators. Hernandez is charged with criminal attempt murder, abandonment of a child, cruelty to children in the first degree, and reckless conduct. Her bond is set at $20,000.
The case has renewed attention on Georgia’s Safe Place for Newborns Act, also known as the Safe Haven Law. The law allows mothers to legally surrender babies up to 30 days old at hospitals, police stations, or fire stations without facing charges.
Chief Deputy Daniel Macon with Columbus Fire & EMS says every firehouse in the city is trained and posted as a Safe Haven site.
“It’s completely anonymous,” Macon said. “You drop them off, we ask no questions. And we make sure the baby is taken care of instead of some of the alternative issues that we’re seeing today.
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While some states allow the use of “baby boxes” for anonymous drop-offs, Georgia law currently requires a face-to-face handoff.
Davis says the experience has changed him and strengthened his belief that better options must be available for struggling mothers.
“It hurt my heart to see a child in the trash can,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to see nobody else go through that. Safe Haven boxes or surrender sites, anything is better than a trash can.”
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