A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty Thursday to manslaughter charges involving the death of her newborn daughter found by a dog in a gravel pit nearly 40 years ago.
Lee Ann Daigle, 58, was arrested last year after advancements in DNA technology helped police in Maine crack a 37-year-old cold case.
On Dec 7, 1985, a Siberian Husky carried home the remains of a deceased infant girl. “I could not believe what I saw. I saw what looked like a little rag doll, but then we saw it was a frozen little baby,” the dog’s owner, Armand Pelletier stated in 2014, according to CBS News.
Authorities tracked the dog’s grisly find back to a nearby gravel pit where prosecutors allege Daigle, formerly known as Guerrette, gave birth to “Baby Jane Doe” and abandoned her in sub-zero temperatures, the outlet reported.
“She appeared to be full-term and was found unclothed, unswaddled, and partially frozen,” Lara Nomani, assistant district attorney, disclosed April 6, according to News Center Maine.
Happening Now: Lee Ann Daigle has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in connection to the death of her daughter, Baby Jane Doe, in December of 1985. Daigle was arrested last year, 36 years after the newborn baby was found abandoned in a gravel pit in Frenchville. @newscentermaine pic.twitter.com/FNLAZnVEDB
— Carly D’Eon (@CarlyD_onTV) April 6, 2023
After decades of investigations into the newborn’s identity, Maine State police were able to determine the identity of the baby’s father in 2021 through advanced DNA analysis and genetic genealogy, the outlet stated. When approached by police, he denied ever knowing about the pregnancy or the birth, eventually leading investigators to Daigle, who was subsequently arrested in Massachusetts and charged with murder in June 2022, WGME News reported at the time. (RELATED: Police Use Cigarette Butt, DNA Testing To Solve 52-Year-Old Murder Case)
“Ms. Daigle admitted to having delivered Baby Jane in that gravel pit and abandoning her there, acting alone,” Nomani stated, according to News Center Maine. (RELATED: Police Charge Mother And Grandfather With Murder For Allegedly Placing Newborn In Trash Bag, Leaving It In Ditch)
Currently Maine has a law which provides “safe haven” for any child less than 31 days old provided they are surrendered to law enforcement officers, a medical services provider, a staff member at a hospital, or emergency room officials.
Though sentencing is still pending, Daigle faces up to 20 years in prison.