DOTHAN, Ala. (WDNews) — A Dothan woman has pleaded guilty to murder in the 2023 death of her newborn son, accepting a plea agreement that will send her to prison for the rest of her life.
Jakayla Williams reached the agreement with prosecutors Monday morning just as jury selection was set to begin. Under the agreement, Williams will serve life in prison without the possibility of parole, avoiding a potential death sentence.
The case dates back to August 2023, when Williams, then 18, secretly gave birth to a baby boy at her home.
According to investigators, Williams wrapped the living newborn in a mattress protector, placed him inside a duffel bag and zipped it closed. She then took the bag to an apartment complex dumpster equipped with a commercial trash compactor.
Dothan police said they believe the baby was alive when he was placed in the dumpster and died before the container was emptied.
Investigators said Williams initially told her family she had safely surrendered the baby to a nurse at Southeast Health Medical Center. Family members became suspicious and went to the hospital looking for the child.
Hospital staff reviewed surveillance footage and determined Williams had not been at the hospital. Police later questioned Williams, and investigators said she admitted what happened.
The baby’s remains were later recovered from a city landfill.
According to the Dothan Police Department, Williams told investigators she discarded the newborn because she did not want the financial responsibility of raising a child and did not want to be a mother.
Monday’s guilty plea resolves the murder case without a trial. Williams will spend the remainder of her life in prison without the possibility of parole.
