Mother Arrested for 1987 Newborn Homicide Identified Through DNA

Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 55, faces first-degree murder charges after DNA analysis linked her to the decades-old case.

The newborn girl was found dead in a Riverside, California dumpster in October 1987.
The case went cold until it was reopened by a homicide cold case unit in 2020.
Advanced DNA technology and forensic genealogy identified Avila as the mother.
Avila was arrested in North Carolina and extradited to California.
Authorities state there is no evidence implicating the baby's father in the crime.