Read more: Local, Baby, Jane Doe, Marlboro, County, Landfill
It was six years ago next week that a newborn was found dead in the trash in Marlboro County.
Investigators are re-opening the case, trying once again to identify the baby girl and her mother.
Below is a letter from the Marlboro County Sheriff's Office concerning this case:
The Marlboro County Sheriffs Office would like to announce the re-opening of a cold case investigation concerning the death of an unknown baby girl found on 6-17-03 in Marlboro County.
On June 17, 2003, a newborn infant girl was found in the Marlboro County trash transfer station. An autopsy was performed at the Medical University in Charleston, SC, and the cause of death was undetermined. The child had dark hair and a light brown skin tone. Several leads were pursued in the initial investigation, and many tips followed up on.
Although the investigation is six years old, we believe that re-opening it will spur interest among the public and the development of new information will occur.
The investigation will continue until the mother of the child is identified and baby Jane Doe is given her proper name. The child has a family; parents, grandparents, etc., and they deserve to know who she is. We feel that at the time of the incident, the mother was under a great deal of stress and her judgement may have been clouded for some reason. We believe that the mother did what she thought was right and may now understand the mistake she made. Several factors could have lead to her decision: conceived during sexual assault or affair, unapproved relationship of parents, disapproval of friends or other family or emotional or financial reasons.
This mother may have sought some medical treatment and may have tried to hide the pregnancy from loved ones. Since the re-opening of this case and the media attention, we feel the mother may begin to feel stress and guilt once again and people close to her may recognize some signs: feelings of uselessness, loss of interest in friends, sleeping problems, abuse of alcohol, changes in weight or suicidal thoughts.
We understand that someone close to the mother might be aware of who she is, but may be afraid to come forward and the mother be labeled as a criminal. We understand the difficulty in this decision, but they might be the only person who can help the mother with the assistance she needs and that the baby doesn't remain a "nameless child without a family". A forensic artist with the State Law Enforcement Division prepared a sketch of the child and we hope this will also help in gathering information.
The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone with information concerning this investigation to call the Sheriff's Office at 843-479-5605 or Crimestoppers.
