Teen mom charged with capital murder after baby found buried in flowerpot at cemetery

CARROLLTON, Texas – The mother of a baby who was found dead in a flowerpot at a Texas cemetery last month has been charged, KDFW reports.

Jazmin Lopez, 18, of Dallas, is charged with capital murder.

The body of the child was found by a worker at Perry Cemetery on March 3.

The Dallas County Medical Examiner determined the child’s mother was at least 34 weeks pregnant when she gave birth.

Carrolton police say Lopez came forward after seeing the story of the baby's body being found on the news.

She initially told authorities she gave birth and the child was not moving or breathing. However, she changed her story after investigators found a photo of the baby alive on her cellphone, according to an arrest affidavit.

Lopez later admitted to authorities that she gave birth in a bathroom while her family members were home, and, when the baby was about to cry, she covered its mouth and held it against her body for about one or two minutes, according to KDFW.

She later put the baby in a backpack and left the apartment to meet a friend. She said when she got to her friend's car, she knew the baby was dead by then.

Lopez told police she and her friend bought a flowerpot at Home Depot, put the baby's body inside, filled it with soil and flowers and dropped it off at Perry Cemetery the next day.

Lopez is confined in the Dallas County jail under a $500,000 bond.