Over four decades ago, a group of children waiting for a school bus in Northfield, Vermont, made a grim discovery: a deceased infant off the side of the road. On April 1, 1982, state police began investigating the case of the newborn boy, whose identity and cause of death remained unknown. Despite extensive efforts, the initial investigation did not yield any information about the infant’s parents, and evidentiary DNA testing was not available at the time.
Breakthrough with DNA Technology
In 2020, Vermont State Police partnered with a DNA technology company to perform genealogy analysis, funded by public donations. By 2021, the company had provided possible names for the baby’s biological parents, who were traced back to the Northfield area in 1982.
State police contacted the individuals at their home in Maine and obtained DNA samples, which confirmed their parentage. The father revealed that he had left Vermont for an extended period in 1982 and was unaware of the pregnancy or the baby’s disposal. The mother admitted to unlawfully disposing of the deceased infant, explaining that she had not known she was pregnant until she began experiencing severe abdominal pain.
Mother’s Account of the Incident
The mother recounted to police that she labored alone for several hours and lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, she found that she had delivered a baby, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck, and he did not survive. In a state of distress, she attempted to find a secluded spot in the woods to bury him. However, upon hearing voices and becoming frightened, she slipped, dropped the baby, and fled the scene. “They were able to get a lot of details from her,” said Vermont State Police Capt. Jeremy Hill. “Being able to spend time with her, speaking to her, and understanding the situation from her view, there’s nothing that would cause us to not believe her.”
Legal Resolution and Community Closure
After consulting with the county prosecutor, state police determined that charges of murder were unwarranted. Additionally, charges related to the unauthorized disposal of a dead body were beyond the statute of limitations. “This resolution took decades to obtain,” stated the Vermont State Police, expressing gratitude to the public for their information and financial contributions toward the genetic testing and analysis.
In April 1982, a reverend named the baby Matthew Isaac, and a funeral service were held at St. Mary’s Church in Northfield. Matthew Isaac Doe was subsequently buried in Mount Hope Cemetery. The resolution of this decades-old case has brought a measure of closure to the community and underscored the advances in DNA technology that made it possible.