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Tara Indrakosit Brazzle, 44, of Valparaiso, Indiana (formerly of Lancaster, Pennsylvania), was arrested in California for the 2007 infanticide by asphyxiation of a newborn baby girl, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's office.
UPDATE: Brazzle has been convicted and sentenced. You can read the updated report here.
ORIGIAL REPORT:
The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office and the Lancaster City Bureau of Police announced the arrest of Brazzle for the murder of "Baby Mary Ann," a newborn who was discarded in a dumpster behind the YMCA previously located in the 500 block of North Queen Street, Lancaster at a press conference on Wednesday.
Brazzle was charged Friday with one count of criminal homicide for the death.
She was arrested at the San Jose International Airport in California after police obtained an arrest warrant for her earlier that morning.
She is being held at the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department without bail and she will be extradited to Pennsylvania.
Brazzle admitted that she gave birth to the newborn known as “Baby Mary Anne,” at an interview with investigators at her home in Indiana last Thursday.
She told police the birth and homicide occurred outside of the City of Lancaster at Brazzle’s former residence located at 261 Paradise Lane, Ronks, Lancaster County.
Brazzle boarded a plane to California the morning after being interviewed by police.
Members of the San Jose Police Department in California arrested Brazzle at the airport after she disembarked the plane.
On September 24, 2007, police were called to the YMCA after employees discovered a deceased newborn in a large trash dumpster in the parking lot.
Brazzle was working at that YMCA at the time.
The investigation revealed that the baby was a female approximately two days old and 35 to 38 weeks gestation.
The baby had been wrapped in a blood-stained towel and several plastic bags and placed into a canvas bag along with the placenta and the umbilical cord.
Police investigated tips from the public of females who were pregnant or thought to be pregnant at the time. At least 25 women were ruled out based on those tips.
Sergeant Randell Zook of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police became the lead investigator of the Baby Mary Anne case in 2016 and new DNA collecting and testing techniques were employed.
DNA evidence was submitted to Parabon NanoLabs, which is known for combining genetic analysis with genealogical research to determine the ancestry of a victim or perpetrator.
Baby Mary Anne’s DNA was uploaded to a public genetic genealogy database in November 2018, where the closest relation found to the victim was a second cousin.
Sergeant Zook created a reverse family tree to track down the mother.
“The initial, exhaustive investigation into the death of Baby Mary Anne created a solid foundation that once combined with investigative techniques and science that did not exist in 2007, led to the identity of the person responsible for this horrible crime,” said District Attorney Heather Adams. “Now, because of the persistence and dedication of lead investigator Sergeant Zook and other members of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police, we can begin the process of holding this suspect accountable and seeking justice for Baby Mary Anne and others impacted by this tragedy.”
Anyone with information on this case or that had familiarity with Tara Indrakosit Brazzle during the 2007 timeframe is asked to contact Sgt. Randell Zook of the Lancaster City Bureau of Police at 717-735-3322.
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