Catherine Innes is accused of putting her dead newborn son in the trash, where his body sat until it was picked up during a routine collection three days later.
HOUSTON — About a year ago, a dead newborn boy was pulled from a garbage truck in northwest Harris County. Now, that child’s mother is facing charges related to the infant’s death.
According to court documents, the child’s mother, Catherine Nicole Innes, told authorities that she had the baby in the shower, passed out, and when she woke up, the child wasn’t breathing. She told them she put the baby boy along with blood-soaked clothing and cleaning supplies in the trash, which was collected during a routine pickup three days later.
On Aug. 14, 2024, Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputies were called out to a residential neighborhood off North Eldridge Parkway near Spencer Road shortly before 9:30 a.m.
They said waste collection workers found the dead newborn in some trash they had picked up. According to the sheriff’s office, the crew found the baby boy’s body when they stopped to compact the trash they had collected from several streets. The discovery was made just around the corner from Innes’ home.
At the time, HCSO officials said the child appeared to be full term and was not a miscarriage. It was unclear how long the child had been dead before it was found.
Innes, now 22, made her first court appearance on Tuesday.
“You are here for the second degree felony offense of tampering with evidence, human corpse,” the magistrate judge said during the hearing.
A neighbor who lived next door for more than a decade was surprised to hear what happened.
“Wow. That’s bad. I thought that it was really horrific, you know, to see that situation and to think somebody could do something of that type of nature, throwing a child in the trash can — that was … that was bad,” Y.Z. said. “Even if it was dead, you still should call authorities. That’s what I would say. You know, not just throw it away like that.”
Innes told investigators she had another son, and she lived with him and her boyfriend. She said both she and her boyfriend wanted more kids, but she didn’t feel like it was the right time.
Innes’ bond was set at $50,000. No one at her home wanted to comment on the story on Tuesday.
CPS said it investigated the case when it first happened, and the older sibling to the victim is still living with family members. They said Innes had no prior history with the agency.