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Two boys found the abandoned newborn girl dead in a remote wooded area off of Mt. Pleasant Road in Mendham Township on Dec. 24, 1984. She was wrapped in a towel inside a plastic bag with her umbilical cord still attached, and the case was ruled a homicide.
A nearly four-decade investigation involving countless leads across three states led to the discovery of the biological mother of the infant — who was baptized and named “Baby Mary.”
Investigators found that the biological mother was a juvenile at the time of Baby Mary’s birth. She was charged with a juvenile delinquency complaint of manslaughter on Monday, April 24. The charge would have been a second-degree crime if committed by an adult, they added.
The woman’s name was not released due to her status as a juvenile when the crime was committed.
The father, meanwhile, had passed away before being identified, and investigators found no evidence that he was aware of the pregnancy, birth, or Baby Mary’s death.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll made the following statement regarding the investigation:
“This arrest is the culmination of decades of effort, across multiple generations of law enforcement. It is a tribute to the tenacity and dedication of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, our Major Crimes Unit, the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mendham Township Police Department.
The death and abandonment of this baby girl is a tragic loss and even after nearly 40 years, remains just as heartbreaking. Justice may not take the form the public has imagined all these years, but we believe with this juvenile delinquency complaint, justice is being served for Baby Mary. Nothing can right this terrible wrong. Thanks to the men and women who worked so diligently on this case, we hope the community is given a sense of closure.”
“I want young parents to know that there is help available,” Morris County Sheriff James Gannon said. “In 1984, the Safe Haven Infant Protection Act did not exist but, on August 7, 2000, the Act became law.
"The legislation allows parents or their representatives to anonymously surrender a newborn baby at any hospital emergency room, police station, fire station, ambulance, first aid, or rescue squads that are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"If the baby appears to be 30 days old or less, and free of any abuse or neglect, the baby will be accepted with no questions asked."
Anyone with additional details about the case is asked to contact the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Major Crimes Unit at 973-285-6192, the Mendham Township Police Department at 973-455-1700, or Morris County Sheriff’s CrimeStoppers at 973-267-2255.
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