How a 1980s California murder case led investigators to Shelby

A woman from Shelby was arrested recently after allegedly throwing her newborn into a California dumpster nearly four decades ago, according to ABC 7.

The Riverside Police Department booked Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 55, on Aug. 5 after North Carolina law enforcement extradited her from Shelby. Avila was booked on a charge of first-degree murder.

She was given a $1.1 million bail and is still in custody.

Detectives discovered the baby girl’s body on Oct. 13, 1987. A man searching for recyclables found the remains inside a dumpster behind a business. The death was ruled a homicide. The case was opened back up in 2020, and detectives turned to DNA samples recovered at the scene to reignite the investigation, ABC 7 says.

Detectives worked with partners at the Riverside County Regional Cold Case Team and the nonprofit Season of Justice to identify Avila as the baby’s mother. After identifying Avila, police worked with the U.S. Marshals to track her down to Shelby.

Investigators said new DNA technology and evidence from the scene in the 1980s led detectives to Avila.

“We went out. We located the individual, took her into custody, brought her into the Cleveland County Detention Center and from that point she’s now back out, or on her way to California now,” said Cleveland County Sheriff Alan Norman.

Norman said his department was contacted by Riverside police in March 2023 to look into Avila as a person of interest. A felony warrant was issued for her arrest after she was interviewed in Shelby.

Avila has been in jail in California for a week.

“We can’t bring the deceased back first and foremost we do know that, but it does give that victim’s family some type of closure to know that the individual is in custody that committed that crime,” Norman said.

Norman said he’s happy to assist any jurisdiction in cases like this.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Shelby woman charged with decades old homicide