MS Coast authorities find possible mother in cold case of newborn who died beside I-10

An investigation into a newborn’s death three decades ago beside Interstate 10 ended this week after authorities found a woman they believe was the baby’s mother.

The unidentified child, who authorities nicknamed Mary Josephine , was discovered in 1993 close to the highway near Lorraine Road in Gulfport. Authorities have said they believe she was tossed or thrown.

Investigators at the time could not find the mother and the case went cold. But the Harrison County Criminal Investigations Division and District Attorney’s Office got a court order in December 2023 to exhume the infant’s body so investigators could identify her with new DNA technology.

The results identified the newborn’s relatives, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office said. The DNA and subsequent interviews led authorities to a residence in Gautier.

Authorities entered the home October 11 and found a woman dead by suicide, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators said they found a letter in the residence that claimed the woman was Mary Josephine’s mother.

Who was Mary Josephine?

Authorities believe the infant was born Dec. 20, 1993.

Two stranded drivers found her beside the interstate one day later. Authorities have said her umbilical cord was still attached.

She was born healthy and died of blood loss and exposure, authorities said. She was 21 inches long, 7 pounds and 8 ounces with brown hair.

Harrison County investigators ruled the death a homicide. Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home buried the newborn at Floral Hills Memorial Gardens on Carl Leggett Road in Gulfport.

MS Coast authorities find ID

Harrison County authorities worked with Othram Inc. , a DNA and genealogy company in Houston, which tested the newborn’s DNA and did forensic genealogy.

The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office submitted DNA evidence to Othram’s lab in The Woodlands, Texas, the company said . Scientists extracted DNA from the evidence and built a DNA profile.

Their tests identified a possible mother on October 10.

Authorities have not released the woman’s identity. The Sheriff’s office said investigators got a search warrant and found the woman on October 11.

Othram said the newborn’s identification was the 31st case in Mississippi the company helped solve.