A 28-year-old mother from Nevada was arrested and accused of abandoning her newborn son in a dumpster earlier this month, claiming she did so because she lacked the resources to care for the child.
Taylour Sierra Dickinson was arrested last week and charged with attempted murder and first-degree child abuse, neglect, or endangerment, according to court records reviewed by Law&Crime. According to the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office, Dickinson left the minutes-old baby in a garbage bag inside an apartment complex dumpster early on July 5. A passerby heard the newborn cry and alerted authorities, saving the child.
“This case has deeply affected our community and our office,” Washoe County Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a statement. “We are grateful for the brave citizen who intervened – a true hero whose actions saved this baby’s life – as well as the work of our detectives in identifying and apprehending those responsible for harming this child. While we cannot undo the trauma, we will seek justice for our most vulnerable citizens. Thank you to our partners for ensuring the best possible outcome for this little boy.”
The victim was “healthy and doing well” after the incident, according to the sheriff’s office, and Dickinson’s charges were confirmed immediately following her arrest. However, the agency initially declined to provide additional information about the case, citing the “sensitive nature of this incident and the involvement of a minor.”
Authorities did provide additional information at Dickinson’s bond hearing last week.
According to Washoe County Sheriff’s Detective Claire Hoops-Adams, the child is believed to have been born around 2:30 a.m. on July 5 and placed in the dumpster around 3:33 a.m. that same morning, according to the Reno Gazette Journal. The detective stated that investigators obtained video surveillance footage from the area showing Dickinson placing the garbage bag in the dumpster.
Dickson reportedly told the detective that she had no idea she was pregnant until she gave birth to the boy in a bathroom, using a towel to remove the baby from the toilet.
“According to her, the infant was completely wrapped in the towel and placed in the garbage bag,” Hoops-Adams allegedly stated. “In her panic, she thought that was her best option.”
Dickinson, who has two other children aged four and ten, allegedly stated that “she had no desire to have any more children, stating her family was financially living paycheck to paycheck at that point.” She also claimed that she placed the baby in the dumpster in the hopes that a passerby would find him.
During the hearing, prosecutors also mentioned a previous incident in which Dickinson allegedly abandoned another child in a dumpster two years prior.
“The incident occurred in 2023, with the Defendant alleging that she had suffered a miscarriage and left the baby in a dumpster at a different apartment complex,” a DA’s office spokesperson said in a video posted to its Facebook page. “Due to the facts, circumstances, and evidence, no case was submitted to the district attorney’s office for prosecution by the investigating agency at that time, nor were charges filed.”
The Reno Gazette Journal reported that the child did not survive.
Dickinson is currently being held in Washoe County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond, according to records. She is scheduled to appear in court again on the afternoon of July 23.
