Authorities in southern Mississippi have identified the remains of a newborn whose death had been a mystery for more than three decades, and investigators say a woman who wrote a letter claiming to be the baby’s mother was discovered dead in her house last week.
The girl, who was a newborn at the time of her death, became known to law enforcement and the community as “Mary Josephine” after being given that name by a local funeral parlor while preparing for her burial. Her body was discovered along the side of an interstate highway in Gulfport on December 21, 1993, and an autopsy revealed that she died of “blood loss and exposure,” according to the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office.
The baby’s umbilical cord was still attached, and investigators determined she was likely born the day before, according to Othram, Inc., the laboratory that did the tests that led to her identification. The medical examiner deemed the death a murder in 1993. Authorities opened a homicide inquiry at the time but were unable to find any of the baby’s family members.
Finally, in December 2023, a judge granted a request from Harrison County investigators and the district attorney to exhume the baby’s body in the hopes of identifying her through DNA analysis, which had advanced significantly since her death 30 years prior.
A DNA sample was obtained and submitted to Othram’s lab in Houston for analysis. Oram stated that it used the material to create a comprehensive DNA profile for the newborn and then parsed a database to connect the profile to potential family members.
Harrison County investigators obtained the findings of those tests last week, which included a forensic genetic genealogy study that identified potential relatives of the newborn. Based on the lab results, investigators conducted interviews and identified a lady who they believed to be Mary Josephine’s mother. On October 10, they acquired a search order for the woman to perform a DNA match to confirm her possible kinship to the infant.
The day after investigators acquired the order, they attempted to contact the lady they believed to be the infant’s mother at her house in Gautier, roughly 40 miles east of Gulfport. They eventually entered the woman’s home and discovered her dead by suicide.
Investigators also discovered a note written by the woman in her house. According to the Harrison County Sheriff, the woman claimed to be Mary Josephine’s mother.
Reference:
Baby identified 3 decades after her body was found on Mississippi highway