Nearly thirty years ago, a Californian man searching for aluminum cans made a horrific discovery when he came across the body of a lifeless newborn stuffed in a shopping bag.
The baby boy, about three days old, was wrapped in a pink and blue blanket inside a red bag at what authorities called an “unofficial dump” on Garin Road in Monterey County on December 3, 1994.
Now, after 30 years, a woman who deputies say is the child’s mother was arrested on suspicion of murder, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department announced this week.
Investigators say advances in DNA technology helped them arrest Pamela Ferreyra, 60, who was charged with one count of murder in the child’s death.
The baby’s cause of death has not been released. According to newspaper reports from 1994, the remains were too decomposed, but coroner’s officials determined he was a few days old and not stillborn. SF door reported.
When the baby was found, he was “carefully dressed” in turquoise pajamas, a blue sweater, white socks and a hat, according to the Sentinel of Santa Cruz, which also reported that he was likely born outside of a hospital due to his “longer than usual umbilical cord.”
Authorities at the time interviewed residents in the area of Garin and Lewis roads, where the baby was found, but were unable to identify the mother or baby and the case was not pursued.
The baby was named Baby Garin because of the road where he was found, and because the name means protection, Monterey County Sheriff Tina M. Nieto said in a statement at a news conference Friday.
“We named the baby Garin not only after the area where he was found, but also because we are the guardians of our community,” she said. “The name Garin means protection. Every child deserves protection and people can defend them and demand justice for them. »
Baby Garin’s case was reopened last year by a new cold case task force and the sheriff’s department submitted the baby’s DNA, which led them to Ferreyra.
Task force detectives “were then able to conduct follow-up interviews and obtain DNA samples that ultimately led to the identification of Baby Garin’s mother,” Rosas said.
Ferreyra was taken into custody last week and arraigned in court on Friday. She is being held at the Monterey County Jail on $1 million bond.
“If you ask any law enforcement professional, they will tell you that the most difficult case to investigate is one involving crimes against children,” Rosas said.
“These are emotional cases that are not easy, if ever, to forget. »
Deputy Prosecutor Matt L’Heureux said Ferreyra had other children. She is a home health care provider, according to several local media outlets.
“Some of them seem to think they got away with it and are very surprised,” L’Heureux said at the news conference.
“Some of them have been waiting for decades for a knock on their door. I couldn’t tell you what situation this corresponds to, but we are happy that this day has arrived.
L’Heureux added that he hopes this case will encourage people to come forward in other cold cases their task force is investigating.
“These cases still matter,” he said. “We care about all victims, regardless of when these crimes took place.
“We will not stop working until these cases are resolved.”
