the mother of a Baby found floating in a cove of Boynton Beach in South Florida, in June 2018, was arrested this Thursday after several years of investigation and a list of leads.
Arya Singh, 29, has been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of her 14-day-old baby, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office told news outlets.
After her arrest, the woman confessed to her crime and said that she had thrown the creature into the sea after birth because she did not know if it was alive or dead.
The newborn – whose gender has not been revealed – was found on 06/01/2018 by a firefighter who was boating in Boynton Beach Inlet when he saw what appeared to be a floating body.
Forensic scientists profiled the baby, dubbed “Baby June” for lack of documentation, and believed to have been in the water between six and 18 hours when her body was found.
After he entered his genetic material information into the national DNA database, the results showed he was 50% Asian and 50% African ancestry.
Although investigators screened more than 700 babies born during this period to find the parents of the deceased, they were unable to generate any leads.
Years later, when they thought they were at an investigative impasse, a possible relative emerged as a DNA match, Palm Beach County authorities said at a news conference Thursday.
This match helped link the case to a possible father who cooperated with the police investigation and helped identify the mother as Arya Singh.
Until then, the father was unaware of the baby’s existence, the lead researcher said. He only remembers that on those dates he had a girlfriend who claimed to have been pregnant, but the man thought she was miscarrying.
They then connected the mother to Boynton Beach Inlet, using search warrants from GPS and phone records 48 hours before the baby was found, and instituted proceedings against her without notifying her.
Coroners revealed that a masked DNA sample from the mother – taken from the trash – confirmed she was related to the infant.
According to the main investigator, the woman’s arrest took place this Thursday, during which a second DNA sample was taken, which confirmed her relationship with “Baby June”.
Speaking to police, Singh said she didn’t know she was pregnant until she gave birth on 05/30/2018and he didn’t know if the baby was alive or dead before he dumped his body in the bay.
His first court appearance is scheduled for this Friday, other media reported.