Nearly three decades ago, a California man searching for aluminum cans made a horrific discovery when he came across the body of a lifeless newborn stuffed inside a shopping bag.
The baby boy, believed to be about three days old, was wrapped in a pink and blue blanket inside a red shopping bag at what authorities referred to as an “unofficial garbage dump” on Garin Road in Monterey County on December 3, 1994.
Now, after 30 years, a woman who deputies say is the infant’s mother, was arrested on suspicion of murder, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department announced this week.
Investigators say advances in DNA technology helped lead them to the arrest of 60-year-old Pamela Ferreyra, who has been charged with one count of murder in the infant’s death.
The baby’s cause of death has not been released. According to newspaper reports in 1994, the remains were too decomposed, but coroner officials determined he was a few days old and had not been stillborn, SFGate reported.
When the baby was found, he was “neatly dressed” in a turquoise sleeper suit, blue jumper and white socks and cap, according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, which also reported that he was likely born outside of a hospital due to his “longer-than-usual umbilical cord.”
Authorities at the time questioned residents in the area of Garin and Lewis roads, where the baby was found, but were not able to identify the mother or the baby and the case went cold.
The infant was named Baby Garin for the road where he was found, and because the name means protection, Monterey County Sheriff Tina M. Nieto said in a statement at a news conference on Friday.
“We named the baby Garin not only for the area where he was found but also because we stand as guardians for our community,” she said. “The name Garin means protection. Every child deserves protection and people to advocate and seek justice for them.”
Baby Garin’s case was reopened last year by a new cold case task force and the sheriff’s department submitted DNA from the baby, which led them to Ferreyra.
Task force detectives “were then able to conduct follow-up interviews and obtained DNA samples which ultimately led to the identification of Baby Garin’s mother,” Rosas said.
Ferreyra was taken into custody last week and arraigned on Friday. She is being held at the Monterey County Jail on a $1 million bond.
“If you ask any law enforcement professional, they will tell you that the hardest case to investigate is any involving crimes against children,” Rosas said.
“These are emotional cases that one does not easily, if ever, forget.”
Assistant District Attorney Matt L’Heureux said Ferreyra has other children. She is an in-home health care provider, according to multiple local news outlets.
“Some of them seem to think that they have gotten away with it and are very surprised,” L’Heureux said at the press conference.
“Some of them have been waiting for that knock on the door for decades. I couldn’t tell you which situation this falls under, but we’re happy that this day has come.”
L’Heureux added that he hopes this case will encourage people to come forward in other cold cases their task force is investigating.
“These cases still matter,” he said. “We care about all victims regardless of whenever these crimes took place.
“We’re not going to stop working until these cases get solved.”