Over 40 years after children found a dead baby near a road, Vermont police find infant’s parents and close the case

More than 40 years after some Vermont children waiting for a school bus discovered a dead baby on the side of the road, state police announced they have found the child’s parents and no charges will be filed.

The deceased child was found in Northfield on April 1, 1982, said state police Wednesday. Investigators determined the deceased baby was a newborn boy, but his identity was unknown. An autopsy could not determine the cause of death or whether the baby died due to existing health problems, police said.

“Although the manner of death was never classified as a homicide, investigators always treated this case as a homicide until that classification could be ruled out,” police said.

The initial investigation did not reveal any information that would help identify the child or his parents, police said. Corroborative DNA testing was not available at the time and the case remained unsolved, police said.

Marge Czok, who lives in Northfield, told CBS affiliate WCAX-TV that she worked in a doctor’s office when police opened the investigation.

“It was a shock, it was a total shock,” Czok said. “The doctors were discussing what had happened and it was very sad that this happened.”

In 2020, state police worked with a DNA technology company to do genealogical analysis with work funded by grants. In 2021, the company provided possible names of the baby’s biological mother and father, who had ties to the Northfield area in 1982.

Vermont State Police said they contacted the individuals at their home in Maine and obtained DNA from them, which confirmed they were the parents. The father told police that he left Vermont for an extended period in 1982 and was unaware of the pregnancy or the disposal of the deceased baby.

The mother admitted that she illegally disposed of the deceased baby. She said she didn’t know she was pregnant and didn’t experience any symptoms until she started feeling abdominal pain. She worked alone for several hours and lost consciousness, she told police. She said that when she woke up she realized she had given birth to a baby, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and he did not survive, according to police.

She said she planned to find a place in the forest to bury him, but as she walked through the forest she thought she heard voices and became scared. She slipped and the baby fell from her arms and she ran, police said.

“They were able to get a lot of details from her and then they were able to spend time with her, talking to her and understanding the situation from her point of view, there’s really nothing that would make us not believe her,” he said Vermont State Police Captain Jeremy Hill.

State police met with the county prosecutor about the case, who determined the homicide charges were unjustified, police said. The charges related to the unauthorized disposal of a corpse are beyond the statute of limitations, police said.

“This resolution was decades in the making,” police said in a statement. “The Vermont State Police expresses its gratitude to the public who provided information and donated to help fund genetic testing and analysis.”

In April 1982, a reverend named the baby Matthew Isaac, and a funeral was held at St. Mary’s Church in Northfield, police said. Matthew Isaac Doe was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery following the service.