(CNN) A Massachusetts woman pleaded guilty on Thursday to murder in the death of her newborn, whose body was found by a dog in a gravel pit almost 40 years earlier in Maine, according to the Office of the Maine Attorney General.
Lee Ann Daigle, 59, of Lowell, was jailed in June in 2015 and charged with one count of murder, according to Maine State Police.
Baby Jane Doe was discovered dead in Frenchville, Maine, on December 7, 1985. A Husky discovered the infant and brought her back to his owner’s home, around 700 feet from where the newborn’s body was found. State investigators had the ability to track the dog’s course to the place where Baby Jane Doe was born, and later on abandoned, in below-zero temperature levels at the gravel pit, authorities said.
The dead infant was discovered unclothed and partly frozen with part of her umbilical cable still connected, said Danna Hayes, an unique representative to the Office of the Maine Attorney General.
Advances in DNA innovation utilized by police assisted break the cold case open, authorities said. Genetic genealogy details created investigative leads that assisted Maine State Police recognize Daigle, previously called Lee Ann Guerette, as the infant’s biological mom, said Shannon Moss, a representative for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
While both moms and dads were discovered alive, just Daigle was charged, Hayes informed CNN.
Daigle was launched on bail from Aroostook County in August 2022, according to court files. Her sentencing is scheduled for June 20. CNN tried to get in touch with an attorney for Daigle and did not get an instant action.
In 2015, a “Safe Haven” law entered into impact in Maine. The law permits moms and dads to give up infants less than 31 days old to Safe Haven companies, that include police officers, emergency clinic staff, medical companies, and healthcare facility staff. The law secures the privacy of the parent giving up an infant and specifies that companies cannot try to apprehend the parent.
CNN’s Amir Vera and Melissa Alonso added to this report.
