Mother arrested 37 years after her newborn was found dead in dumpster: Police
(NEW YORK) — A woman has been arrested for the murder of her newborn 37 years after the baby girl was found dead in a dumpster in California, authorities said.
On Oct. 13, 1987, a man rummaging for recyclables found a dead newborn in a dumpster behind a business, Riverside police said.
Authorities believe the baby was born within hours of being abandoned, police said. The baby girl’s death was ruled a homicide, police said.
Decades went by without answers.
In 2020, police said the case was reopened, and investigators joined forces with Othram labs to try to solve the case with DNA technology.
Forensic evidence was submitted to Othram in 2021 and scientists used that evidence to build a DNA profile for the unnamed baby, according to Othram.
Riverside police then turned to forensic genetic genealogy, in which unknown DNA is identified by comparing it to family members who voluntarily submit DNA samples to a database, Othram said.
The forensic genetic genealogy investigation led authorities to potential relatives of the unknown baby, Othram said.
Authorities said they identified the suspect as 55-year-old Melissa Jean Allen Avila, who was 19 at the time of the newborn’s death.
A motive is not known, police said.
Avila was arrested in North Carolina and extradited to Riverside County, California, police said. She was booked for first-degree murder on Aug. 5, police said.
“Detectives have no reason to believe the baby’s father had any criminal culpability in the murder,” police added.
Avila’s arraignment is set for Sept. 9.
Riverside police stressed that California’s Safe Arms for Newborns law — enacted in 2001 — allows a parent to leave a baby three days old or younger at a fire station or hospital emergency room.
“If the baby has not been abused or neglected, the person may surrender it without fear of arrest or prosecution for child abandonment,” police said.
(NEW YORK) — Two women were killed and five other people were hurt in a shooting at a barbecue in an upstate New York park, according to police.
Hundreds of people, including children, were in Rochester’s Maplewood Park when rounds were fired from multiple weapons shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday, Rochester police said at a news conference.
The five people who were hurt suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said Monday.
Tyasia Manning, 25, and Phylicia Council, 34, were killed in the shooting, police said.
Manning was a city employee who helped young people “become their best selves,” Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said.
“These were innocent victims,” he said.
“As I looked at that crime scene last night, I saw a stroller, people’s shoes. Our people, our residents, should be able to enjoy the summer in a park, period,” Evans said. “But all too often, we have individuals in this community that are unmitigated cowards — that are OK with shooting women. And two of those women lost their life.”
“Maplewood Park is known for its beautiful views, beautiful events. … It should not be remembered by being a place that is marred by violence,” Evans said.
No arrests have been made.
Police urge anyone with information or video from the scene to call the Major Crimes Unit at 585-428-7157 or email MajorCrimes@CityofRochester.gov.
(LOS ANGELES) — A 4.7 magnitude earthquake centered in Malibu, California, rocked the Los Angeles area Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
A 2.8 magnitude aftershock was registered in Malibu two minutes after the initial quake.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(OROVILLE, Calif.) — A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of starting a massive Northern California wildfire in July that destroyed 26 homes and businesses and prompted the evacuation of nearly 30,000 people, officials said.
Spencer Grant Anderson of Oroville, California, was arraigned on Monday on charges of arson of an inhabited structure, arson of forest land and arson causing multiple structures to burn, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office.
Anderson was ordered to return to court on Wednesday after he has a chance to speak to his court-appointed attorney, prosecutors said.
“It was a long-term investigation. There are a lot of moving parts. Right now it’s an accusation and everybody has a right to a trial,” Anderson’s attorney, Larry Pilgrim, told ABC News on Tuesday as he waited at the Butte County Jail to speak to his client for the first time.
Pilgrim said he plans to ask for a continuance in the case to allow him to review the evidence. He said Anderson will enter a plea at a later date.
Investigators from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) identified Anderson as a possible suspect a day after the Thompson Fire ignited near the town of Oroville on July 2, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey said at a news conference on Monday.
“For 50 days, Cal Fire devoted four to six investigators per day, brought in from around the state, to continuously watch Anderson as other investigators meticulously built the case,” Ramsey said. “If Anderson had chosen to light another fire, we were confident the surveillance personnel would be able to detect and stop the fire before it could get out of control.”
Anderson was taken into custody on Aug. 22 when Cal Fire investigators executed search warrants and “located evidence further implicating Anderson in starting the Thompson fire,” prosecutors said in a statement without elaborating on the evidence.
Ramsey said that on the day the fire was ignited, Cal Fire investigators pinpointed the area where the fire started near the intersection of Cherokee and Thompson Flat roads in a rural area northeast of Oroville and quickly determined the “fire was caused by an intentional human act.”
“Arson by its very terms is a very difficult crime to solve because it burns up the evidence,” Ramsey said, praising the work of investigators on the case.
Ramsey said several 911 callers and witnesses in the area at the time the fire started reported seeing a blue Toyota driving in the area and investigators determined the fire was most likely started by a flaming object thrown from the Toyota as it drove southbound on Cherokee Road.
Using automatic license plate readers in the area, investigators were able to identify the Toyota and trace it to Anderson, Ramsey said.
“Anderson was arrested and questioned. He admitted that on the morning of the fire, he purchased fireworks from a firework stand in Oroville, then went up to Cherokee Road to ‘test one’ by throwing it out his car window,” prosecutors said in the statement.
In addition to destroying 26 structures, including 13 homes, the Thompson Fire damaged eight structures and burned 3,789 acres before it was fully contained on July 8, according to Cal Fire. Two firefighters were injured battling the blaze, Cal Fire said.
If convicted of the charges, Anderson faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in prison, according to prosecutors. Anderson has been ordered to be held without bail at the Butte County Jail.
The Thompson Fire was the second wildfire deliberately set in Butte County in July. On July 24, the Park Fire was deliberately started in Bidwell Park near Chico and spread to more than 429,000 acres across Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties.
Ronnie Dean Stout II, 42, was arrested on a felony count of arson of an inhabited structure or property, according to the Butte County District Attorney’s Office. Stout has pleaded not guilty.
Stout was allegedly spotted pushing a car that was on fire down a gully called “Alligator Hole” in Bidwell Park, igniting the Park Fire, now the fourth largest wildfire in California history, according to prosecutors.