Police arrest mother after her dead newborn was found in an Amazon warehouse bathroom trashcan

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Police arrest mother after her dead newborn was found in an Amazon warehouse bathroom trashcan

amazon phoenix facility

ABC15

The Phoenix, Arizona, facility where a dead newborn baby was found in a trash can in a women's restroom on January 16, 2019.

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  • Police in Phoenix, Arizona, say they arrested a woman after a dead baby was found in a bathroom trash can in an Amazon warehouse.
  • Court records say Samantha Vivier described giving birth to the girl.
  • She told police she did not know she was pregnant, and that the baby was stillborn, court records show.
  • Janitors found the child after they noticed the trash bag was heavier than normal, according to the records cited by USA Network's AZ Central.

Police in Arizona have arrested the mother of a newborn baby which was found in a restroom trashcan in an Amazon warehouse.

The Phoenix Police Department arrested Amazon worker Samantha Vivier on on Tuesday, they told USA Network's AZ Central.

It came a week after janitors found a dead newborn girl in an Amazon warehouse washroom in western Phoenix.

Vivier will now be charged with unlawful disposal of human remains, AZ Central quoted police as saying on Tuesday.

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mazon warehouse at 5333 W. Lower Buckeye Road, amazon baby dead airzona

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The Amazon warehouse outside Phoenix, Arizona, where the baby was found on January 16, 2018.

The discovery was made when police were called to the warehouse at when cleaners searched a "heavier than usual" trash bag, AZ Central quoted from court records and the police statement.

They found a baby wrapped up inside, "unresponsive" and "cold to the touch," the court records reportedly stated.

Read more: Peeing in trash cans, constant surveillance, and asthma attacks on the job: Amazon workers tell us their warehouse horror stories

A witness told police that Vivier told him she had been sick in the restroom for two hours, and that she needed new pants, court records quoted by AZ Central said.

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When investigators contacted Vivier after the witness came forward, police say she told them she had given birth during her shift, sometime after she went on her lunch break at 11:30 a.m, according to the cited court records.

Amazon warehouse at 5333 W. Lower Buckeye Road, phoenix arizona dead baby

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The Amazon warehouse at 5333 W. Lower Buckeye Road, where the baby was found on January 16, 2018.

Court record said Vivier disposed of the corpse "to hide the birth from the father of the baby" and that she was "confident" the baby was dead when she gave birth, AZ Central reported.

After Vivier was arrested on Tuesday, she told police she had no idea she was pregnant and felt no movement from the baby, but had noticed putting on 15 pounds, according to the reported court records.

An Amazon spokesman told Business Insider on Friday: "This is a terribly sad and tragic incident. We are working with local authorities to support their investigation. The safety and wellness of our team is our top priority."

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Police say that the investigation into the death is still ongoing with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and the Medical Examiner's Office.

Jeff Bezos

Cliff Owen/AP Images

Amazon called the incident "a terribly sad and tragic incident." Here, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

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