Police investigate dead baby found in recycling facility

FARMINGDALE, N.J. — State Police will lead the criminal investigation into the discovery of a dead baby found in a recycling center earlier this week.

Trooper Alina Gutierrez Spies, a spokeswoman for the New Jersey State Police, said authorities are trying to locate the mother of the deceased infant girl, whose remains were discovered Tuesday afternoon by an employee moving trash at the ReCommunity Recycling facility on Railroad Avenue.

State Police provide law enforcement services for the borough, which does not have its own municipal police department.

At the facility Thursday, workers in a recycling truck blocked the line of sight of an Asbury Park Press photographer who was taking pictures of the complex. The complex is located in a semi-isolated corner of town, along the tracks of an old branch of the Central Railroad of New Jersey line between Red Bank and Hammonton.

Blood-stained clothing was located close to the body, and State Police detectives said they hope someone will recognize it and help them identify the mother.

The baby girl was pronounced dead at 3:31 p.m. Tuesday and the body was taken to the Middlesex County Medical Examiner's Office in North Brunswick, where an autopsy was performed.

Members of the State Police Major Crime Unit, Troop "C" Criminal Investigations Office, Crime Scene Investigation Central Unit, Monmouth County Prosecutor's Office, and Monmouth County Medical Examiner's Office responded to the facility to investigate.