3 indicted after newborn found in trash can at Savannah motel; alleging attempted murder

by Madalyn Bierster

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Three people have been indicted in the case of a newborn found in a trash can at a Savannah motel. Prosecutors say the baby’s mother ‘attempted to kill the newborn.’

Dominique Welcome, 29, Chiquita Roche, 39, and Jamal West, 44, are charged in the case. First responders found the baby in the trash Oct. 10th outside a motel on Abercorn Street.

See previous coverage: www.wtoc.com/2026/10/14/officials-refuse-share-any-new-info-regarding-baby-found-savannah-hotel-trash-can/

Dominique Welcome, 29, Chiquita Roche, 39, and Jamal West, 44, were arrested and face charges in connection with the case.

Charges against Welcome

The indictment names Welcome as the mother. It says she attempted to murder her newborn.

The grand jury also agreed Welcome deprived her child of necessary sustenance, jeopardizing the child’s well-being.

Charges against Roche and West

Prosecutors say Roche lied to police. She allegedly denied knowing Welcome had given birth. Roche also reportedly kicked two female officers.

West, the third person charged and a registered sex offender, was indicted for lying to police during the investigation.

How the baby was found

Savannah police responded to the Quality Inn on Abercorn Street around 3 a.m. that Saturday. Two officers found an infant inside a trash can.

“911 we need you to respond hot to reports of a baby in a trash can,” a dispatcher said, according to EMS call audio.

EMS had responded earlier to a woman hemorrhaging, the EMS director said. At the hospital, first responders determined the woman had given birth and told police to search the hotel.

First responders gave the child medical attention. Savannah police said the baby is safe with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.

Information not released

Police have not released the baby’s gender, current condition or injuries at the time the baby was found.

Chatham EMS and other first responders cited HIPAA laws in declining to discuss the baby’s condition.

DFACS said in a Oct. 19 statement it is “bound by both state and federal law to protect the privacy of the people we serve. As such, we are unable to comment on the specifics of any reported abuse or neglect cases.”