Mom Charged in Newborn's Murder, 30 Years Later

Thirty years after the discovery of a newborn baby's body at a dumpsite in California, the mother has been found and charged, police say. Pamela Ferreyra, 60, arrested Thursday at her home in Watsonville, just six miles from where the body was discovered, faces one count of murder in the baby boy's death. Ferreyra, who has other children, works as an in-home healthcare provider, according to a Facebook page viewed by KSBW. Many questions remain unanswered. It's unclear how the boy died or whether he was alive when left at the illegal dumpsite on Garin Road in the Las Lomas area of Monterey County. Coroner officials confirmed the boy, dubbed Baby Garin, lived for at least a few days after birth, per the Los Angeles Times.

He was wearing a cap, T-shirt, and diaper, and was wrapped in a blanket placed inside a paper bag, says sheriff's office rep Andy Rosas, per USA Today. Authorities believe the boy died between Nov. 1 and Dec. 3, 1994, and his body went undiscovered for weeks until it was found by a man collecting aluminum cans, per the Independent. "He opened up that paper bag and discovered something that nobody ever wants to find," Rosas says, per KSBW. After the death investigation was reopened early last year, authorities were able to create a DNA profile and trace it to Ferreyra using genealogy research. Assistant District Attorney Matt L'Heureux says there's sufficient evidence to charge the mother with murder. Held on a $1 million bond, she's to be arraigned Friday afternoon. (More murder stories.)