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30th April 2024
02:15pm BST
You may not be familiar with the story of Baby Mary but the case, which is now 40 years old, has finally been solved.
In 1984, a group of boys were fishing on Christmas Eve in New Jersey.
They were hanging out in a wooded area in Mendham Township, New Jersey when they made the harrowing discovery.
The boys found a newborn baby in a plastic bag in the park on December 24th, 1984.
The infant was wrapped in a towel and still had her umbilical cord attached when her body was found.
Authorities confirmed the child was alive when her mother gave birth to her.
Police in Mendham never gave up on the Baby Marry case and finally tracked down the infant's mother nearly 40 years after the baby was found dead.
Thanks to modern technology, the police were able to link Mary Crumlich to the death of Baby Mary.
Crumlich was only 17 years old at the time of her daughter's death.
Morris County Prosecutor Robert Carroll told ABC: "DNA of the baby was taken, obviously, at the time of the discovery. DNA analysis led investigators to an identification of the father. Thereafter, literally running down hundreds, if not thousands, of leads led to identification of the mother.
"Both the father and the mother have been verified through DNA as being the proper mother and father."
The father of Baby Mary passed away before the case was solved. It is understood that he didn't know about the infant or her harrowing death.
Crumlich was charged as a juvenile because she was a teenage girl at the time of Baby Mary's death in 1984.
She pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
40 years after her baby girl's death, Crumlich was sentenced to 364 days in prison.
