New Jersey police have arrested a woman accused of placing a malnourished and injured dog in a trash bag and leaving it in a dumpster outside her apartment complex in Lindenwold.

Turquoise Morton, 38, is charged with abandoning a domestic animal and animal cruelty for allegedly torturing, tormenting, or maiming a dog.

According to Lindenwold Police, the incident took place in March. Officers were called to the Belmont Apartments on White Horse Pike after receiving a report that a dog had been found in a trash bag “in one of the dumpsters of the property.”

When first responders arrived at the scene, they found a small white dog that was still alive, but “severely malnourished” and “suffering from multiple serious injuries,” authorities said.

Last week, police released surveillance images of a “person of interest” in the incident, asking for the public’s help in locating her.

That person, later identified as Morton, reached out to the local NBC affiliate WCAU and confirmed she was the person in the photos shared by police, but denied abandoning the dog in the trash.

Morton was arrested Tuesday following a “thorough” police investigation. She was booked into the Camden County Correctional Facility pending a court appearance.

The dog recovered at a local animal shelter and is now in good health. It has since been adopted, police said.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/05/20/nj-woman-arrested-dog-dumpster/