STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Nearly 40 years after two boys trouncing through a patch of woods in suburban New Jersey discovered the body of a newborn baby, authorities announced the girl’s mother has been arrested in the case.
At a press conference held Thursday by Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, authorities said the woman charged, now 57 years old, was arrested in April in South Carolina and charged in a juvenile delinquency complaint with one count of manslaughter, NJ.com reported.
She was 17 years old and a resident of Morris County at the time of the death, authorities said.
Carroll said the mother, whose name was being withheld because she’s being charged as a minor, was being monitored but not yet detained Thursday in connection with the homicide. At the time of the incident, as news spread throughout the community of the tragic discovery, the girl came to be known as “Baby Mary.”
If found guilty, she could face up to three years prison. A possible motive or reason for abandoning the child was not discussed by authorities, the outlet reported.
The girl’s body was found in a wooded area of Mendham Township on Christmas Eve. Her umbilical cord was still attached and she was wrapped inside a towel inside of a plastic bag, authorities said. She was believed to be alive when she was abandoned.
Carroll said DNA of the alleged victim taken at the time of her discovery was later matched to her father, who has since died and is not believed to have known about the baby. But that “hundreds if not thousands of leads,” ultimately led investigators to the mother.
At a press conference this week, Sheriff James Gannon pleaded with young parents who might find themselves in similar situations today, Gothamist reported.
“I want young parents to know that there is help available,” Gannon said, pointing to the Safe Haven Protection Act that was passed in 2000, 16 years after Baby Mary’s discovery.
“The law allows parents or their representatives to…
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