Vermont police solve sad 42-year mystery

More than four decades after some Vermont children waiting for a school bus discovered a dead baby on the side of the road, state police have announced they have located the child’s parents and no charges will be filed. The deceased child was found in Northfield on April 1, 1982, the AP said. Investigators determined that the deceased baby was a recently born boy, but his identity was unknown and an autopsy could not determine the cause of death. Provable DNA testing was not available at the time and the case remained unsolved, police said.

In 2020, state police partnered with a DNA company to conduct a genealogical analysis, with the work funded by donations. In 2021, the company provided possible names of the baby’s biological mother and father, who had ties to the Northfield area in 1982.

• The father: Vermont State Police said they contacted the individuals at their home in Maine and obtained DNA from them, which confirmed they were the parents. The father told police that he had left Vermont for an extended period of time in 1982 and knew nothing about the pregnancy or the removal of the deceased baby.
• The mother: She admitted unlawfully disposing of the deceased child. She said she didn’t know she was pregnant and had no symptoms until she started having stomach pains. She worked alone for several hours and lost consciousness, she told police. She said when she came to, she realized she had had a baby, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he did not survive. She said she planned to find a place in the woods to bury him, but as she walked through the woods she thought she heard voices and became afraid. She slipped and the baby fell from her arms and she ran away, police said.
• No costs: State police met with the county attorney about the case, who ruled the murder charges were unfounded. Costs associated with the unauthorized removal of a corpse are outside the limitation period.

(More cold case stories.)