21 years after 'Baby Michael' found dead, Cumberland authorities arrest mother
A Burke County woman was arrested Thursday in the death of a newborn whom Cumberland County investigators named "Baby Michael" almost 21 years ago.
Posted — UpdatedDeborah Riddle O’Conner, 54, was charged with first-degree murder and was being held without bond in the Cumberland County jail.
On March 3, 1999, a soldier found the body of a newborn boy in a plastic bag on Canady Pond Road. The soldier initially thought he had found a baby doll, but he then realized his gruesome discovery was actually a dead infant.
Cumberland County Sheriff's Office investigators determined the child died of blunt force trauma, but they weren't able to identify him, find his parents or determine who killed him.
The umbilical cord was still attached to "Baby Michael," and his mother's placenta was in the bag with him, so investigators recently sent DNA from the evidence to Bode Technology, a Virginia firm that specializes in forensic genealogy services. Bode was able to develop a family line for "Baby Michael," and investigators eventually whittled down the pool of suspects.
When they drove to Burke County to speak with O'Conner, she admitted she was the mother and had killed the child, authorities said.
"I believe she knew this day was probably coming," Lt. Adam Farnham said at a Friday morning news conference.
In November, O'Conner posted on Facebook: "You can't hide behind a religious mask forever; sooner or later, the mask will slip and your true face will be known."
O'Conner's husband called the arrest "a witch hunt."
"I cannot stand that mug shot that they've got of her. I can't stand to look at it because that's not the Debbie I know," Charles O'Conner, who has been married to Deborah O'Conner for 10 years, told NBC affiliate WCNC in Charlotte.
Sheriff Ennis Wright said the DNA was linked to someone whose DNA was in a crime database, which then led investigators to O'Conner, but he declined to elaborate. O'Conner herself wasn't in any database, he said.
"DNA has freed folks, and DNA has convicted folks," Wright said.
The sheriff called O'Conner's arrest "a sad day."
"This event, what happened, is going to affect a lot of folks. It's going to affect two families," he said. "In life, a lot of times we have options. We have choices we can make, and you hope that sometimes you would make the right choice. But in this situation, the right choice wasn't made."
O'Conner has other adult children, he said.
Wright and Farnham declined to discuss any statements O'Conner made to investigators, including the motive for killing the baby, saying the case remains under investigation. The sheriff said it's too early to determine whether anyone else might be charged.
Authorities held a funeral for "Baby Michael" – he was named for the patron saint of law enforcement officers – at Hair's Chapel Church in Linden in 1999, and they have marked each anniversary of his death with a graveside memorial service.
Investigators never stopped working the case, however. Wright said he was a patrol officer when "Baby Michael" was found, and he still recalls that day vividly.
"This was something personal to this sheriff's office – very personal – and [investigators] weren't going to stop until we got it solved," he said. "What affects law enforcement is [crimes against] the young and the elderly because a lot of those folks can't defend themselves. We're here to defend them."
Even with the arrest, he said, investigators will hold their annual memorial service for "Baby Michael" on March 3.
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