North Jersey law enforcement recognized for solving 1984 Baby Mary homicide case
The Morris County Prosecutor's Office received statewide recognition last week for its work in solving the Baby Mary case nearly 40 years after the abandoned newborn was found in the woods of Mendham.
The office's Major Crimes Unit was honored Thursday by the New Jersey Homicide Investigators Association at the 29th annual Advanced Homicide Conference at Princeton University. The agency, working with law enforcement in multiple states, was able to finally identify the baby's parents last year, leading to a manslaughter charge for the mother.
"Congratulations to the men and women of the Major Crimes Unit, who brought closure to a heartbroken community and justice for a little girl abandoned four decades ago," Prosecutor Robert Carroll said.
Baby Mary was discovered by two boys on Christmas Eve 1984, wrapped in a towel inside a plastic bag with her umbilical cord still attached. The medical examiner determined the infant had been alive at the time of her birth and ruled the death a homicide.
Local investigators worked diligently to pursue various leads over the years, and last September, the prosecutor's office announced it had arrested the baby's mother in South Carolina. In April, the woman was identified as Catherine Crumlich, 57.
Crumlich, who was a juvenile with the surname Snyder at the time Baby Mary was born, pleaded guilty Feb. 28 to manslaughter, an offense that would be a second-degree crime if committed by an adult. On April 3, she was sentenced to 364 days at the Morris County Correctional Facility followed by two years of probation.
The father, who was 19 at the time of Baby Mary's birth, died in 2009, the prosecutor's office previously stated. There is no evidence he was aware of the pregnancy or the baby's birth or death.
Nine members of the prosecutor's office were recognized at last week's conference, along with four members of the Mendham Police Department and other Morris County law enforcement personnel. Carroll praised the honorees for staying focused on the "complex and exhaustive investigation," which combined new DNA technology with networking across departments in three states.
"I cannot overstate the amount of effort that went into this case," he said. "Mendham Township, and the hard-working investigators of the MCU, never forgot Baby Mary."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Morris County law enforcement recognized for Baby Mary case
