A frantic but careful search through dumpsters for a missing newborn. Jurors heard testimony about that search from a doctor and five police officers Tuesday in day three of Purvi Patel’s feticide and neglect trial.

Jurors also saw disturbing pictures of the baby at the center of the trial. Patel is accused of taking pills to abort the infant, then putting it in a dumpster behind a restaurant her family owns.

The state put those pictures up on a projector screen. The baby had a full head of hair, ears, a nose, arms, legs and feet.

It was lying on its side on top of a plastic bag.

Jurors seemed somewhat stoic; a few appeared to have tears in their eyes.

Patel quietly cried while the doctor who unwrapped that baby from plastic bags testified he thought the infant looked “normal” and could have been born alive.

That obstetrician testified he was called in to St. Joseph Regional Medical Center on July 13, 2013 to give a second opinion on Patel – who was admitted to the labor and delivery unit bleeding with a protruding umbilical cord.

“This was not a simple miscarriage,” testified Dr. Kelly McGuire. ”I drew a conclusion that there should have been a baby at the end of the umbilical cord.”

McGuire told jurors he called police and found out Patel told another doctor she’d put the baby in a dumpster behind Super Target in Mishawaka.

Then, McGuire rushed there in his own car.

“I thought time was of the essence and if they found the baby then potentially I could help with the resuscitation if needed,” he testified.

“Did you believe this baby could still be alive?” asked deputy prosecuting attorney Mark Roule.

“Yes,” McGuire replied.

While McGuire and several police officers carefully searched dumpsters, a St. Joseph County officer testified he was at Patel’s Granger home. 

Patel's father answered the door and let officers inside. Police say they explained to them why they were there -- looking for the baby. 

That officer told jurors they found blood droplets upstairs and some other bloody evidence, so they asked the family to leave because the house was potentially a crime scene.

The officer testified he saw a yellow SUV in the driveway of the home with the words “Moe’s Southwest Grill” on it. He advised others over the radio to search dumpsters there and that’s where police ultimately found the infant, wrapped in plastic bags.

“I concluded that the baby was dead. The baby was cold and lifeless but I thought it was an otherwise normal, healthy appearing baby. There were no other signs of trauma to the baby,” Dr. McGuire said.

McGuire also testified, based on his 15 years experience delivering babies and the size of Patel’s umbilical cord and uterus, he gave a “rough estimate” that the baby was about 30 weeks gestation – about 10 weeks premature.

He also told jurors he would expect a baby that age to exhibit signs of life when it was born, such as movement and possibly crying, but he also noted the baby would need medical care in order to have a chance of survival.

The jury also heard from police who searched the dumpsters – including the officer who found the baby.

“You could immediately see paper towels, paper products, cloth products that had blood all over them. When (the doctor) first opened the bag that’s when I was able to see the infant,” testified St. Joseph County Police Officer Neil Hoover. 

“(The doctor) removed a napkin or maxi pad off the forehead or face of the baby...he tried to check it for any signs of life. The baby itself was almost a grayish-blue in color. It had no signs of life.”

A crime scene technician also testified he found a United Airlines boarding pass with Purvi Patel’s name on it next to the infant.

The trial is expected to last at least through the end of this week.