The mother of a newborn discovered dead in a dumpster in California nearly 40 years ago has been arrested, accused of murder after she was identified using DNA technology.
The newborn girl was found by a man rummaging for recyclables in a dumpster behind a business in the 5400 block of La Sierra Avenue in Riverside on Oct. 13, 1987, Riverside police said.
The baby’s death was ruled a homicide, and despite an investigation, “all leads were exhausted and a suspect was not identified,” police said in a release.
The police department’s Homicide Cold Case Unit reopened the investigation in 2020. It was aided by Season of Justice, a nonprofit organization that provides financial aid for investigative agencies and families to solve cold cases using DNA analysis and forensic genealogy. The funding allowed Othram, a lab that specializes in forensic genetic genealogy, to conduct DNA analysis.
Forensic evidence was submitted in November 2021 to Othram’s lab in Texas, where scientists developed a DNA profile for the unknown infant, Othram said in its own news release. The profile was sent back to the police, and from there investigators looked at potential relatives of the girl, ultimately leading to the identification of her mother: Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 55.
Avila, who was 19 at the time of the child’s death, was found across the country in Shelby, North Carolina.
She was arrested Aug. 5 in Shelby and extradited to Riverside County.
She was taken to the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Riverside on a first-degree murder charge. She made her first court appearance Wednesday and was released following an agreement for supervised own recognizance, online booking and court records show.
No plea has been entered. Her attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
She's due back in court on Sept. 9.
Authorities noted there’s no reason to believe the baby’s father had any criminal culpability in her death.
“Thanks to the persistent efforts of our investigators and partners, this victim now has an identity, bringing resolution to the case,” Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said in a statement.
California passed the Safe Arms for Newborns law in 2001. It allows a parent or a legal guardian to confidentially surrender a newborn who is 3 days old or younger to any hospital emergency room or fire station without fear of arrest or prosecution if the baby has not been abused or neglected.