Sheriff’s Office asking for help identifying ‘Baby Marina’ found dead at waste management facility

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION)

UPDATE 05/06/2020 8 p.m. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office released new information on Wednesday about the baby found at a dump north of Marina last week.

In a somber press conference in Salinas, investigators revealed the baby girl was about 39 weeks old when she died.

"There's been a humungous outpouring of support from the community for Baby Marina. We have extensively and exhaustively worked the leads in this case," said Bryan Hoskins, a MCSO detective sergeant.

So far, the tips from the public have not gone anywhere. But detectives have nicknamed the full-term baby "Baby Marina" to give her a better name than something like Jane Doe.

AT 39 weeks into development, the baby was either nearing birth or already born when she died, but investigators are still awaiting further tests on how she died.

"It's very, very hard on us because we see more than the general public sees. That's also why we feel so responsible for her also," said Commander Kathy Palazzolo.

Trying to figure out where exactly Baby Marina was dumped is also a huge challenge. The recycling facility takes in about 220 tons of waste a day from all three Central Coast counties.

"The fact is is there's hundred upon hundreds of trucks coming in daily, and it doesn't look like that's going to be something that's going to pan out," said Mike Smith, a MCSO detective.

Investigators are confident, however, that DNA sequencing will help identify who Baby Marina's parents are simply by taking the baby's DNA and checking it against government and other genealogical databases for DNA like the FBI's CODIS system.

"We have people in the area and national experts that will take her DNA for us, they've already contacted us, and start running it through and try to do reverse genealogy to find out people she is related to," said Hoskins.

Detectives did reach out to area hospitals and did not find anything matching Baby Marina's case. The sheriff's office is looking to the public for help now, including the baby's parents.

"We want to let the parents know that we understand what happened may not have been easy, and we're hear to hear what happened if they're willing to come forward and talk to us," said Hoskins.

"What we're asking is if you're aware of someone that was due in April or May and you haven't had contact with that person or seen a picture of the
child or something along those lines, because these times are so much different than before, go ahead and give us a call," said Smith. "It's a no harm, no foul. We follow up, we see the happy, healthy baby, we move along."

Charitable groups on the Central Coast are also offering to help with funeral and burial arrangements for Baby Marina. The Catholic Diocese of Monterey says they are offering to help with burial arrangements, including burying the baby at a church-owned cemetery.

The sheriff's office still has custody of the body for at least a few more weeks as the investigation continues.

UPDATE 5/6/2020 1 p.m. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office held a news conference Wednesday to provide an update on the investigation into the death of a baby girl whose body was found at a local waste facility.

The Sheriff's Office said it has received tips that have been investigated about the baby, referred to as Marina, but so far the tips have not panned out and she has not been identified yet. They are asking the community to keep sending in tips so they can find her family and find out more about what happened.

Investigators said Marina was full-term at about 39 weeks, but her cause of death has not been determined yet and they are waiting for test results. She had apparently died within the week before birth, at the time of her birth or in the week after her birth. They said they will use her DNA to try to determine her identity, but that process will take time.

Marina's death is currently being investigated as a homicide, but investigators said that is because it is suspected that her death could possibly be homicide. They said it will be investigated as such unless it is proved otherwise to make sure the investigation is detailed.

So far, the Sheriff's Office has not been able to determine how her body ended up at the Monterey County Regional Waste Management District. The facility takes waste from Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, but but because of how much material goes through the facility, they have not determined where she came from.

The Monterey County Regional Waste Management District has been deeply affected and is pooling resources to help, according to the Sheriff's Office, and the Catholic Diocese of Monterey has offered to give her a burial and funeral.

The Sheriff's Office said it named the baby Marina because of where she was found, but also because they said she deserved a name. They said nobody deserves the treatment she was given, especially an innocent.

Investigators said they would like to know the mother and father's side of the story and express their condolences to her family.

Anyone with information is asked to call 831-755-3762.

PREVIOUS STORY: The Monterey County Sheriff's Office is set to hold a press conference at 1 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the case of a dead baby girl found at a local waste facility.

Their investigation started last week after a worker at the Monterey County Regional Waste Management discovered the body on a conveyor belt and called in authorities.

Deputy Chief, John Thornburg, says one of the biggest challenges in the investigation is finding out where the baby came in from and who was involved.

Monterey County Regional Waste Management covers a large area including Monterey County, Santa Cruz County and parts of San Benito County.

"There's an untold number of trucks that come through and drops stuff off and you get conveyor belts that go this way and that way and move things around. So going through all that is what led to two days,"says Thornburg.

No suspects have been arrested but deputies say they are working on more leads.

Chief Thornburg did say some evidence was recovered but detectives will go more into detail about the case later today.

They say any tips from the public could help with their investigation and encourage anyone with information to speak up.

"The fact that it is an infant, it tugs on the heart strings of everybody involved," says Thornburg.