Police investigating decomposed body of an infant found in Long Beach alley

LONG BEACH, CA (CNS/FOX 11) - A body found by neighbors today in an alley surrounded by a cardboard box and debris turned out to be that of an infant, a Long Beach police detective said.

Police were called to 67th Street and Gardenia Avenue at 4:22 p.m. on the report that an infant's body had been burned, said Detective Claudia Lopez of the Long Beach Police Department.

The body was that "of an infant and it's not burned, but in a stage of decomposition that would give it that appearance," Lopez said.

From Victoria Spilabotte:

A group of teenagers made a gruesome discovery Tuesday afternoon in a Long Beach neighborhood. They found the body of a dead baby near 67th Street and Gardenia Avenue, according to police.

"It was in an alley where there is some debris and there was a cardboard box," Sgt. Brad Johnson, Long Beach Police Department, said. "A piece of cardboard, the kids lifted it up and found the body."

Neighbors believe the teenagers were likely walking home from a nearby school.

Four teens were involved in the discovery, according to police.

"When I came outside earlier I just saw a group of teenagers out here standing behind the caution tape," neighbor, Roderick Montemayor, said.

Investigators don't know how long the baby had been underneath the cardboard, but whoever called them initially thought the body was burned.

"Long Beach homicide investigators responded and confirmed they did have a deceased infant, but the body was not burned," Johnson said. "It was in a state of decomposition that could give it that appearance."

Police said the body was in such bad shape they couldn't tell the sex or age of the baby in the position it was lying in.

Neighbors are shocked to hear about what happened.

"I just can't imagine someone leaving their baby in the alley," Monica Roman said. "I'm expecting right now and I can't even imagine somebody doing that."

The coroner will determine the infant's cause of death.