He was picked up by police about 6 p.m. Wednesday night. At that time, he gave a statement to police indicating that he had put his hand over the baby's mouth while the child was crying and the child stopped breathing, according to statements in bond court.
Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim later said that Thorpe had placed his hand over the child's mouth for 10-15 seconds.
Thorpe told police that he had then placed the child's body in a backpack that he put in a garbage can in an alley behind the building in the 2300 block of Galilee, an act that was seen on video surveillance footage, according to statements in bond court.
Thorpe then retrieved the backpack from the garbage can and took it to a large metal trash bin, an act that was also caught on video surveillance, according to statements in bond court. Thorpe then watched a garbage truck empty the bin before checking the bin again.