Houston, TX — A 22-year-old Texas mother has been arrested nearly a year after allegedly giving birth to a baby boy in a shower and placing his body in a trash bin, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced the arrest of Catherine Nicole Innes on Monday evening, stating that she is charged with tampering with evidence involving a human corpse. The case stems from an August 14, 2024, incident when sanitation workers discovered the decomposing remains of a newborn inside a garbage truck’s compactor on Fountain Crest Court in Houston.
According to a probable cause affidavit, deputies were on the scene when Innes approached them and admitted to being the child’s mother. She told investigators she had experienced severe stomach cramps three days prior to the discovery and had gone into the shower to relieve the pain. While in the shower, she gave birth.
The infant, identified as Jesus Martinez, was reportedly born alive and “began to make some noise,” the affidavit stated. Innes told deputies she then passed out and awoke to find the baby no longer breathing. Frightened, she allegedly placed the baby in a trash bag along with blood-soaked towels and the nightgown she had been wearing, then discarded the bag in a bin behind the home. The trash was collected as scheduled three days later.
Innes, who lives with her boyfriend and 3-year-old son, told investigators that although she and her boyfriend had discussed having more children, she did not feel it was the right time for another baby.
A medical examiner later determined the cause and manner of death to be “undetermined,” noting no physical deformities or medical conditions in the infant. However, the examiner concluded the baby could have survived if medical care had been provided. Possible causes of death included drowning, suffocation, or heat exposure from being left in a trash bag in the summer heat.
Authorities have not said why charges were delayed nearly a year. Innes was booked into the Harris County Jail, where she remains held on a $50,000 bond. Her next court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.
The case remains under investigation.
