A Massachusetts woman has been arrested in the December 1985 death of her newborn, who was abandoned in below zero temperatures at a gravel pit in Maine, according to Maine State Police.
Lee Ann Daigle, previously Lee Ann Guerette, of Lowell 58, was arrested Monday. She is accused of abandoning the child more than three decades ago, but she hadn't been identified until recently with the help of technological advancements in law enforcement that did not exist during the original investigation, including DNA and genetic genealogy.
The child, known as Baby Jane Doe, was found dead in Frenchville, Maine on December 7, 1985, by a dog that carried the body back to his owner's house. Investigators tracked the dog's path back to the gravel pit, which was about 700 feet away.
Daigle was indicted by a grand jury on one count of murder. She was arrested outside her Lowell, Massachusetts, home on Monday and waived extradition. She is currently being held at the Aroostook County Jail in Houlton, Maine and was scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
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Today, Maine has a safe haven law that allows parents to surrender a child less than 31 days old to approved safe haven providers. These include law enforcement officers, staff at a medical emergency room, a medical services provider, or a hospital staff member at a hospital.
