The gruesome discovery was made around 6 p.m. after detectives said they got a call from doctors at a local hospital.
Investigators said a young woman walked into the hospital and was bleeding profusely. Doctors became suspicious and started asking the woman some questions. That's when the woman broke down and told them she just had a baby and discarded its body in front of her apartment.
Authorities rushed out to the corner of Chico Avenue and Fern Street, where they found the body inside a trash can. It's unclear if the woman had a stillborn birth or if the baby was killed.
"We're trying to figure out several things -- how the infant died, if there's any criminal intent on anybody's part, how the infant was placed there, if there's any connection to this home to whichever parents, and who may or may not be culpable depending on the circumstances that we learn after the autopsy," said Lt. Jeff Leslie with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.