Baby Luna Case: What We Know About Takiyah Babers' Arrest

Baby Luna case — South Los Angeles dumpster homicide investigation, Alba Street

Luna was four months old. On a Monday night in late September 2026, two neighbors taking out the trash on Alba Street in South Los Angeles found her in a dumpster outside the Pueblo del Rio housing development, across the street from Holmes Avenue Elementary School. Paramedics took her to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The next day, her 19-year-old mother, Takiyah Babers, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

The baby Luna case has left a South LA neighborhood, and the family who raised Babers, asking the same question: what happened to Luna in the hours after she was last seen safe? This is what has been confirmed so far, and what is still unknown.

Who Was Baby Luna?

Luna was a four-month-old girl who spent much of her short life around the family that had raised her mother. Laura Lacey and Herman Johnson took Takiyah Babers in as a foster child when she was seven years old, and they had stayed closely involved in Luna's care. To them, Luna was their granddaughter.

"That was the sweetest little baby in the world," Johnson told reporters. "To be found in a dumpster, it just broke my heart."

What Happened on Alba Street

According to the family, Johnson and Lacey dropped Luna off with Babers at about 6 p.m. on Monday. That is the last time they saw her.

Around 10:30 p.m. that night, neighbor Martha Serrano Jimenez and her daughter went to throw out their trash near the 5200 block of Alba Street, close to Long Beach Avenue. They found an infant inside the dumpster and called for help. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics took the baby to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Serrano Jimenez later described the clothing the baby was wearing to reporters: pink pants and a shirt with a flower on it. That description would soon matter to Luna's family.

How Luna Was Identified

Early the next morning, Johnson and Lacey saw news coverage about a baby found in South LA. Two details stood out. Early reports said the infant had six toes on her left foot, a trait Luna had. And the clothing description matched what Luna had been wearing when they dropped her off.

The family says they went to Babers for answers and that her explanations of where Luna was did not add up. Police have said little publicly about what Babers told investigators, and MotiveX has not been able to confirm reports circulating online about a video she allegedly showed her family. Those claims remain unverified.

The Arrest of Takiyah Babers

On Tuesday, September 29, LAPD officers detained Babers near the area and booked her on suspicion of murder. Jail records show she is being held at the Century Regional Detention Facility in Lynwood, with bail set at $2 million.

The LAPD's Abused Child Unit is leading the investigation. As of the latest reports, no formal charges have been filed; detectives are expected to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, which will decide what charges, if any, Babers will face. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not yet released Luna's cause of death.

Takiyah Babers has been arrested but not charged or convicted, and she is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.

Who Is Takiyah Babers?

Babers is 19 years old and Luna's mother. Very little about her has been confirmed publicly beyond her age, her arrest and her history with the family who raised her. Lacey and Johnson say they welcomed her into their home as a young child and raised her as their own.

That history has made this case especially painful for them. "I have no love for her," Lacey told reporters. "Why? Because she didn't have no love for that innocent baby."

A Neighborhood in Mourning

In the days after Luna was found, family and community members came together to mourn her. The dumpster sat across the street from an elementary school, on a block many families walk every morning.

For Johnson and Lacey, it is the loss of a grandchild they helped care for, and a question about how a baby who was safe at 6 p.m. ended up there by 10:30 p.m.

Timeline of the Baby Luna Case

What Happens Next

The LAPD Abused Child Unit will present its findings to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for a charging decision. The medical examiner's findings on Luna's cause of death are expected to play a major role in what charges Babers ultimately faces. No court date has been publicly announced.

Key questions are still open: what happened between the 6 p.m. drop-off and the 10:30 p.m. discovery, and what evidence led detectives to make an arrest so quickly. MotiveX will update this case file when charges are filed or the cause of death is released.

Say her name: Luna.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Takiyah Babers?

Takiyah Babers, 19, is baby Luna's mother. She was arrested on September 29, 2026, on suspicion of murder and is being held on $2 million bail.

Has Takiyah Babers been charged?

Not yet. She was booked on suspicion of murder, and the case is being presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office for a charging decision.

How was baby Luna identified?

Her family recognized her from early news reports, which mentioned six toes on her left foot and described clothing that matched what Luna had been wearing that evening.

What was baby Luna's cause of death?

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has not released a cause of death.

Where was baby Luna found?

In a dumpster on Alba Street near Long Beach Avenue in South Los Angeles, outside the Pueblo del Rio housing development and across from Holmes Avenue Elementary School.

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Sources

• FOX 11 Los Angeles: Mother arrested after 4-month-old found in South LA dies
• ABC7 Los Angeles: Baby found in South Los Angeles; mother arrested, police say
• MyNewsLA: Mother of 4-month-old infant faces charges (Sept 30, 2026)
• KTLA 5: Grandfather of baby girl speaks out
• NBC Los Angeles: Foster family of woman arrested expresses grief
• WFLA / Nexstar: Takiyah Babers arrested in death of baby girl