The Daily Populous Tuesday August 13rd, 2024 night edition
Authored by nbcnews.com and submitted by -Fuck-You-Charles-

The mother of a newborn discovered dead in a dumpster in California nearly 40 years ago has been arrested, accused of murder after she was identified using DNA technology.

The newborn girl was found by a man rummaging for recyclables in a dumpster behind a business in the 5400 block of La Sierra Avenue in Riverside on Oct. 13, 1987, Riverside police said.

The baby’s death was ruled a homicide, and despite an investigation, “all leads were exhausted and a suspect was not identified,” police said in a release.

The police department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation in 2020. It was aided by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization that provides financial aid for investigative agencies and families to solve cold cases using DNA analysis and forensic genealogy. The funding allowed Othram, a lab that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, to conduct DNA analysis.

Forensic evidence was submitted in November 2021 to Othram’s lab in Texas, where scientists developed a DNA profile for the unknown infant, Othram said in its own news release. The profile was sent back to the police, and from there investigators looked at potential relatives of the girl, ultimately leading to the identification of her mother: Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 55.

Avila, who was 19 at the time of the child’s death, was found across the country in Shelby, North Carolina.

She was arrested Aug. 5 in Shelby and extradited to Riverside County.

She was taken to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Riverside on a first-degree murder charge. She made her first court appearance Wednesday and was released following an agreement for supervised own recognizance, online booking and court records show.

No plea has been entered. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

She's due back in court on Sept. 9.

Authorities noted there’s no reason to believe the baby’s father had any criminal culpability in her death.

“Thanks to the persistent efforts of our investigators and partners, this victim now has an identity, bringing resolution to the case,” Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said in a statement.

California passed the Safe Arms for Newborns law in 2001. It allows a parent or a legal guardian to confidentially surrender a newborn who is 3 days old or younger to any hospital emergency room or fire station without fear of arrest or prosecution if the baby has not been abused or neglected.

LadySmuag on August 12nd, 2024 at 18:15 UTC »

I can't find any info on the original autopsy or cause of death beyond that it was ruled a homicide and they don't believe the father was involved. Does anyone have a source that explains why they think the mother is involved?

thisguypercents on August 12nd, 2024 at 17:26 UTC »

I get that its a horrific crime and agree that every murder should be properly investigated whenever their is a breakthrough whether technological or evidence... but couldn't a lot of these resources especially the funding provided by this non-profit be used for more recent murders?

Isn't there also like a backlog of a couple thousand recent rape cases where the attacker is much more likely to be on the streets and capable of repeating those crimes?

Seeing as this is the 3rdish abandoned baby case in recent days solved thats over 20+ years old I'm kind of wondering if they are making those a priority but finding a lot of the mothers have been unalived for a long time now, so these are the only ones making headlines.

graveybrains on August 12nd, 2024 at 16:49 UTC »

> California has a “Safe Arms for Newborns” law which allows a parent or legal guardian to confidentially surrender a newborn that is three-days-old or younger to any hospital emergency room or fire station without fear or arrest or prosecution, if the baby has not been abused or neglected.

Seems like they should have mentioned that law was passed in 2001.

Edit: internet high five 🖐️ for u/UnbreakableAlice for getting it fixed instead of just complaining about it 😁