A 42 year old cold case finally closed tonight.
Vermont State Police say it is solved.
The case known as Baby Doe,
a name given to a newborn found dead along the
side of a road in Northfield.
ABC 22's Isabel Schoeneman heard from investigators today and she's
live tonight in The Newsroom.
Lauren State Police say they've identified the child's parents,
but say no charges will be filed.
This case dates back to April 1st,
1982 when some children waiting for a bus.
Found the body of the newborn,
A local reverend gave him the name Matthew Isaac Doe
and there was a funeral for him.
But the child's true identity and his parents remained a
mystery.
That started to change in 2020 when state police partnered
with ADNA technology company Parabon Nano Labs.
ABC 22 covered this story as a mystery in the
mountains segment in 2021.
That's when Parabon gave state police possible names of the
parents who had ties to the area at the time.
Investigators say they talked to the mother who admitted to
dumping the baby.
She said she didn't know she was pregnant at the
time and said the baby boy was stillborn.
The mother said she wanted to give the baby a
proper burial in the woods,
but said she heard voices,
got scared and left the baby behind.
Detectives believe the mother is telling the truth.
The detectives, they sat down and spoke with her for
quite an extended period of time.
They were able to get a lot of details from
her and then,
you know, being able to spend the time with her,
speaking to her and understanding the situation from her view.
There's really nothing that would cause us not to believe
her.
Police say the father was away for an extended amount
of time and didn't know about any of this.
The Washington County state's attorney says the statute of limitations
has passed on potential charges of illegal disposal of a
body and says murder charges are not warranted.
So no charges will be filed again and we will
not learn the names of Matthew Isaac.
Does biological parents. State police calling this decades old cold
case officially closed live in The Newsroom.
Isabelle Schoeneman, ABC 22 News.