• A 17-year-old girl allegedly gave birth in a Walmart restroom and left the newborn in a trash can, where the baby was later found dead.
• Store surveillance led police to the teen and her father, Jerry Lee Martinez, who was arrested and charged with child endangerment and evidence tampering.
• Authorities and the community are urging awareness of Safe Haven laws, which allow safe, legal surrender of newborns to prevent similar tragedies.

A heartbreaking and disturbing tragedy has rocked the small city of Kingsville, Texas, after a newborn baby was found dead inside a Walmart restroom trash can. A 17-year-old girl is at the center of the shocking case, accused of secretly giving birth in the store’s bathroom, then leaving the baby behind in the trash before walking out as if nothing had happened. The case has triggered a wave of outrage and disbelief as police try to piece together what led to the infant’s death — and whether it could have been prevented.

A Shocking Discovery After Hours

It all unfolded on the night of Monday, July 14, inside a Walmart on East General Cavazos Boulevard. Just after 10 p.m., a store employee doing routine maintenance entered the women’s restroom. What they found in the trash can stopped them cold: a newborn baby, lifeless and discarded like garbage.

The employee immediately called for help, and several coworkers rushed to the scene. Some tried to perform life-saving measures on the baby while others called 911. Emergency responders arrived quickly, and the baby was rushed to the hospital. But it was too late — doctors pronounced the infant dead shortly after arrival.

Police sealed off the restroom and began reviewing security footage. What they discovered next would lead to the arrest of a teenager and launch a wider investigation that’s far from over.

Surveillance Footage Reveals Chilling Timeline

According to the Kingsville Police Department, store surveillance cameras captured a young girl walking into the Walmart alone earlier that evening. She headed straight to the restroom and stayed inside for roughly 40 minutes. She didn’t purchase anything. When she eventually exited, she walked calmly through the store, left the building, and climbed into a car waiting just outside.

Officers with the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office tracked the vehicle down in the Walmart parking lot and conducted a traffic stop. Inside the car was the 17-year-old girl and her father, 45-year-old Jerry Lee Martinez. The teen was visibly unwell and taken straight to the hospital for medical care. Her father was arrested on the spot.

A Father in Custody, Questions Unanswered

While the teenager is currently being treated and has not yet been charged, her father is facing serious legal trouble. Jerry Lee Martinez was charged with abandoning or endangering a child through criminal negligence. He also faces charges for tampering with evidence and attempting to influence a witness, raising even more questions about what exactly he knew — and when.

Authorities have not released details about Martinez’s involvement in the events of that night, but investigators believe he may have known about the birth or the baby’s location and failed to act. Did he know his daughter was pregnant? Was he waiting in the parking lot while she gave birth inside the store? Did he help cover it up? Those are the haunting questions now being explored.

Kingsville Police say they intend to interview the girl once she is medically cleared and emotionally stable enough to speak. Until then, the case is filled with unknowns — and the community is left in shock.

A Community in Mourning and Outrage

News of the incident spread quickly throughout Kingsville, a tight-knit city where families know one another and tragedy is personal. Many are reeling from the horror of the baby’s death and the details surrounding it.

“This is something you expect to hear about on the news in a big city — not here,” said Sandra Ramirez, a mother of three who lives just blocks from the Walmart. “How scared must that girl have been to go through that alone? But leaving a baby in a trash can — that’s something I just can’t understand.”

On social media, emotions ranged from heartache to fury. While some showed compassion for the teen, others demanded justice for the baby who never got a chance to live.

“She had options,” one commenter wrote on Facebook. “Texas has Safe Haven laws. You can drop a baby off at a fire station, hospital — anywhere safe. There was no need for this. That child deserved better.”

Others called for more education and support for young mothers, pointing out that fear, shame, or isolation might have pushed the teen to make a desperate and deadly choice.

Authorities Urge Safe Choices in a Crisis

Police are urging anyone facing an unplanned pregnancy or a birth crisis to remember there are safe, legal options. Texas’s Baby Moses Law — part of the state’s Safe Haven program — allows a parent to leave a baby who is less than 60 days old at certain locations without facing prosecution, as long as the child is unharmed.

Celinda Tatum, an accident investigator with the Kingsville Police Department, emphasized that the situation could have ended very differently.

“There’s always a better way — a safer way,” Tatum told reporters. “What happened here wasn’t just unsafe, it was deadly. We don’t want another young girl to feel like this is the only option. If something happens, if you’re in trouble, call 911. Go to a hospital. You will not be alone.”

The Road Ahead

As the teen remains in the hospital under watch, and her father sits in jail, the Kingsville Police Department continues gathering evidence. Forensics experts are reviewing the restroom scene and any physical items connected to the baby. Meanwhile, medical staff are working to stabilize the girl before investigators proceed with formal interviews.

Charges against the teen have not been filed yet, and authorities say they are proceeding with caution, balancing the need for justice with the mental and physical state of a young girl who may have been in crisis.

Still, a newborn is gone. A life was discarded before it even began. And a city is left grappling with a tragedy that has no easy answers.

Anyone with information that may help the investigation is urged to contact the Kingsville Police Department at 361-593-8849.