An Alabama teenager, who police said disposed of her newborn baby in a dumpster, has been charged with capital murder, authorities said Thursday.

Jakayla Ashanti Williams, 18, confessed to investigators in the southeastern city of Dothan that earlier this month she wrapped her newborn child in a blanket before placing the body into the dumpster at an apartment complex on the west side of town.

“She stated when she placed the newborn child in the dumpster, he was still alive,” police said.

The dumpster, which was connected to a trash compactor, was seized by the Dothan Police Department on Thursday, and then taken to a landfill.

After officers sifted through the trash, they found the remains of a newborn baby inside a zipped-up duffel bag.

The body, which was wrapped in a mattress protector, has been sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences in Montgomery for a final ID confirmation.

“I’ve never even heard of something so horrific as this,” Dothan Police Chief Will Benny said at a press conference Thursday. “It shocks the mind. It shocks the soul.”

On Wednesday, staff at Southeast Health Hospital contacted police after a female — Williams — claimed she had left her newborn at the facility because she didn’t want the child and because it cost too much money.

The teen said she gave birth at her residence on Aug. 13. and almost immediately took the baby to the hospital, leaving the infant with an employee in the hospital lobby.

Williams’ family was unaware she was pregnant until Wednesday of this week, police said in a news release.

When they found out she had delivered a child, the family went to the hospital to find the person they believed had received the baby — according to the story the teen told them.

After a short investigation, however, officers saw discrepancies in Williams’ story and determined she hadn’t gone to the hospital on the day she alleged.

Williams, who had her first court appearance Friday morning, is being held without bond on a capital murder charge.