Just four days before Christmas 1993, a newborn baby with her umbilical cord still attached was found deceased on a highway in Gulfport, Mississippi. The baby was estimated to be born alive the day prior to her discovery. Her manner of death was ruled a homicide.
Now, 31 years later, the baby has been identified. Genealogical data also revealed her birth mother, who died by suicide upon the identification news.
1993
The 1993 autopsy determined the newborn died of blood loss and exposure. According to news reports at the time, Father Tommy Conway of St. John Church named the child “Mary Josephine” since she was born just days before Christmas. Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home gave her a proper burial at Floral Hills Memorial Garden in Gulfport. Her pallbearers were U.S. Marines.
Details of the case were entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) as UP15277. Police appealed to the public in hopes that someone with knowledge of the case would help identify the baby or the person responsible for leaving her on the side of the highway. However, with no information, suspects or leads, Baby Mary Josephine’s case went cold.
2024
In December 2023, 30 years after Mary Josephine’s murder, the court granted an order to the Harrison County Criminal Investigations Division and Harrison County District Attorney’s Office to exhume the baby’s body to obtain DNA for identification purposes. The DNA was sent to Othram for testing, analysis and genetic genealogy.
Othram was successful in building a DNA profile for the infant. They also used genetic genealogy to build out a family tree. Othram delivered the results to the Harrison County Criminal Investigations Division on Oct. 10, 2024.
Only one day later, after conducting several interviews based on the new leads, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office’s identified the possible mother of Mary Josephine. Investigators then quickly obtained a search warrant for DNA comparison.
While waiting on the results of the DNA test, investigators attempted to contact the possible mother, but were unsuccessful. They made entry into her residence in Gautier, Miss., where she was found deceased. Her death was determined to be a suicide. Investigators located a letter inside the residence, in which the woman claimed to be the mother of Mary Josephine.
Mary Josephine’s true identity has not yet been released.