With heavy hearts, mourners buried on Saturday in Freehold a baby in a small casket who had been found in a dumpster.
The community named the baby Emma Grace posthumously. She was 7 pounds 5 ounces.
"She never met any of these folks -- different backgrounds, different churches," said Tom Detamore Jr., who is the pastor at Ardena Baptist Church in Freehold. "They all came together to show love and respect to this little girl."
Detamore lost his triplets eight years ago. "We had children and we lost them," he told mourners. "And here's a little baby nobody wanted."
About five months ago, Emma Grace's body was found in a dumpster at a recycling facility in Farmingdale. Police say she wasn't stillborn. Authorities released a sketch of the baby and pictures of blood-stained blouses that were found in the trash.
Police believe the baby may have been of mixed race, possibly Hispanic.
Monmouth County Crime Stoppers, which can be reached at 1-800-671-4400, is offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the baby's mother.