Authorities have finally identified a baby whose body was found in a trash bag over two decades ago. It was March 14, 2002, when a group of kids playing on Calumet Avenue in Fort Wayne, Indiana, discovered the “Baby John Doe.”
While a specific cause of death was never identified for the child, an autopsy revealed that he had suffered a large amount of blood loss, which could have been due to the improper tying of his umbilical cord.
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According to 21 Alive News, the Allen County Coroner’s Office announced that the child had been identified on Tuesday, November 5, 2024.
When the baby’s body was first found, investigators didn’t have much information to work with because of the newborn’s age and how he was discovered. At the time, they weren’t even able to identify his race. But more than 20 years later, investigators finally made some progress.
The infant was finally identified through his father, thanks to the Indiana State Police. Chief Investigator of the Allen County Coroner’s Office Chris Meihls issued a press release in which he stated the dad was interviewed by Fort Wayne Police, who were then able to identify the child’s potential mother. DNA testing later confirmed them both as the biological parents. According to their findings, the mother was a juvenile when the baby was born.
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When interviewed by police, the mom said the baby had been stillborn. Whether her claims are true cannot be confirmed. The autopsy done in 2002 could not tell if the baby had ever been alive after his birth. At this time, no charges have been filed against the mother or father.
One man remembers attending the baby’s funeral on July 18, 2002, according to the news outlet. Sunny Lovell said his son, who was 8 years old at the time, went with him and “still remembers” attending. “It still has an effect on him too,” he said.
Lovell doesn’t hold anything against the parents for what happened, especially the mother. “She could have been in shock,” he said. “We don‘t know her story — we really don’t.”
He said that if he could, he’d give the infant his last name. But the coroner’s office explained that only the biological parents are able to name the child, which at this time, they’ve declined. They are, however, able to return at a later date and name the baby if they desire to.
