Newborn was found dead in trash bag in 1996. Now parents are identified, Iowa cops say
The parents of a newborn girl found in a garbage bag in 1996 have been identified, the Iowa Department of Public Safety (IDPS) said.
On Nov. 10, 1996, a caller reported that the newborn girl’s body was in a garbage bag in a barn outside Lisbon, Iowa, IDPS said.
The Iowa Division of Crime investigated at the time but were unable to identify the baby, her parents or the circumstances that caused her death, according to a news release.
The unidentified girl was nicknamed “Baby Jane Lincoln” after the nearby highway, but her case went cold for years.
Advances in DNA testing allowed for investigators to find her parents 28 years later, IDPS said. Two 43-year-olds were identified as the parents of Baby Jane, according to IDPS. McClatchy News is not including the name of the man or woman as no charges have been filed against them.
The parents would have been around 15 years old at the time of Baby Jane’s death.
The medical examiner’s office listed the baby’s cause of death as “probable exposure” and the manner of death as “undetermined” after an autopsy was performed, according to IDPS.
Investigators do not have evidence that the baby was alive when she was left in the barn, according to KWWL. The statute of limitations has expired for any charge other than murder, KWWL reported.
IDPS says the case is still under investigation.
Lisbon is about 135 miles east of Des Moines.
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