Funeral Service Set For Newborn Found Dead At Recycling Center
ROSEVILLE (WWJ) - The last of the legal hurdles have been overcome and a funeral service has finally been set for the newborn baby boy who was found dead at a metro Detroit recycling center in January.
Roseville Police Chief James Berlin said services for the baby, known as Henry Alexander, will be held Tuesday, March 10 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Kaul Funeral Home on Gratiot Avenue.
"Anyone who wishes to pay their respects and show this child the love he did not receive in life is welcome," Berlin said in a statement.
A funeral service will be held on Wednesday at Resurrection Cemetery in Clinton Township, but the final arrangements have yet to be made regarding the baby's internment.
The baby's mother, 24-year-old Angela Alexie, is charged with first-degree murder and child abuse in his death.
Police say Alexie gave birth in an unheated garage in Eastpointe on Dec. 22, using her teeth to sever the umbilical cord. She left the newborn in garage, which had a broken window, while she went back to the warmth inside her friend's house -- returning here and there to check on the child.
The baby died two days later, likely from exposure to cold weather. His body was found at a recycling center in nearby Roseville on Jan. 14.
"No food, no water, no clothing, no warmth, no blanket, no protection against the elements — this child had no chance," Macomb County Assistant Prosecutor Bill Cataldo has said. "There are a ton of options she could have used. That child was 15 feet from a door that would have led that child to warmth."
Prosecutors contend that Alexie hid her pregnancy out of embarrassment. She has admitted that the child is hers, but said that she did not leave the boy in a recycling container.
Defense attorney Steve Kaplan said Alexie is very remorseful over her baby's death. He believes she didn't purposefully kill the newborn.
"My client is responsible for he child's death, but we do not believe that she intended to physically harm the child or cause seriously great bodily harm," Kaplan said. "We think that the appropriate charges are involuntary man slaughter and second-degree child abuse."
Alexie has three other children, ages 1 to 4, but doesn't have custody of them. She's due back in court on April 28.
