Shiloh man brings injured baby to hospital, saying he found her in trash bin, police say

A Shiloh man turned up to Memorial Hospital East on Monday, claiming to have found a seriously injured baby in a trash bin, police say.

But after further investigation, police found that the 1-month-old baby had never been in a trash bin, according to a Shiloh police news release. Turns out, the person who brought the injured baby to Memorial Hospital East in Shiloh was the baby’s father.

The baby’s father, Matthew D. Espino-Tonche, 21, and his girlfriend and the baby’s mother, Elyssa A. Arellano, 19, were charged Tuesday with one count each of aggravated battery to a child with great bodily harm and causing a child to be endangered.

Police responded to Memorial Hospital at 5:38 a.m. Monday in reference to a baby that had been found in a trash bin in the 500 block of Williamsburg Drive in Shiloh. After interviewing Espino-Tonche, police found Arellano hiding in the back seat of her boyfriend’s car. Both were taken into custody.

Both remained in the St. Clair County Jail as of Tuesday evening, on $250,000 bail. The baby is in stable, but serious, condition.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 6:11 PM with the headline "Shiloh man brings injured baby to hospital, saying he found her in trash bin, police say."