York County trial starts in case of SC woman charged in the 1992 death of infant daughter

A prosecutor said Tuesday in court that Stacy Michelle Rabon is linked by DNA to an infant found dead 31 years ago.

Defense attorneys said they have questions about the DNA cited in the case, but did not say what those questions are.

Both sides offered opening statements Tuesday as the trial of Stacy Michelle Rabon started. The presiding judge, Bill McKinnon, said early in proceedings that opening statements are not evidence.

Evidence must be introduced during the trial, McKinnon said.

Rabon, 50, is accused of killing her newborn baby. She is charged with murder and homicide by child abuse.

Baby found dead in Catawba River 31 years ago. Her mother faces murder trial this week

Rabon faces up to life in prison if convicted. But she has not been convicted of any crime connected to the case, court records show.

The infant was found on Aug. 12, 1992 in the Catawba River between Rock Hill and Fort Mill, prosecutors said. The baby had been born healthy but had been stabbed and suffocated, prosecutors said. The child had cocaine in its system, prosecutors said.

Rabon told deputies in 2021, before she was arrested, that in 1992 she delivered the baby in a van and gave it to a couple for adoption, then never saw the child again, according to the opening trial statement by Leslie Robinson, 16th Circuit senior assistant solicitor.

Rabon’s defense lawyer said in an opening statement that there are questions about the DNA evidence. The defense lawyer said the baby was alive and unhurt when the baby was taken from Rabon.

Cold case until DNA match

The child was unidentified for much of three decades, prosecutors said.

The female infant, called “Baby Jane Doe” and “Baby Angel Hope,” died in August 1992.

The case went without an arrest until Rabon was charged in August 2021.

Rabon’s DNA, in a national DNA database from a 2019 arrest and conviction for drugs, matched DNA from the infant’s blood, 16th Circuit Deputy Solicitor John Anthony said.

Prosecutor’s opening statement

A newborn baby has no choice but to count on its mother, Robinson said Tuesday morning. But the baby girl, born on Aug. 12, 1992 and found dead in the Catawba River, could not count on Rabon, Robinson said.

“Her baby was found deceased in the Catawba River inside a Sears shopping bag. In that era, Sears’ slogan was ‘You can count on me,’” Robinson said.

The case went cold because the child’s parents could not be found, Robinson said.

York County created a DNA lab several years ago. The infant’s DNA was re-examined and pointed to Rabon, Robinson said.

Deputies interviewed Rabon in 2021, and Rabon admitted she had a baby girl on Aug. 12 1992, and she was born alive.

Rabon told deputies, she was not financially stable in 1992, already had another child, and did not believe she could take care of the baby, Robinson said.

Rabon told deputies the plan was for another couple to adopt the baby, Robinson said. Rabon said she gave birth to the child in a van, then two other people took the baby. The couple was not clearly identified during the opening statement.

“The defendant claimed she never saw that baby again,” Robinson said.

Defense’s opening statement

One of Rabon’s lawyers, assistant public defender Deondra Sexton, said in an opening statement that evidence will show Rabon, whom she called “Michelle,” is not guilty.

“The evidence will show Michelle’s baby was not hurt, was not injured, and was alive when her baby was taken,” Sexton said.

Sexton said the burden is on prosecutors to prove any allegations against Rabon.

There will be no witness who can say they saw Rabon commit murder or homicide by child abuse, Sexton said. Sexton said the defense will question the DNA evidence.

Sexton also said the case is emotional because a child is dead, but the jurors’ duty is to listen to the evidence and make a decision -- not influenced by sympathy.

Witnesses begin

The man who found the baby in the river in 1992 testified he was at the river with family and friends. He found the bag and saw the blood and sheet with the baby inside. He said emergency workers were called.

Photos of the bag with the baby in it were shown to the jury.

The York County Coroner in 1992, James Chapman, testified about the actions taken after the baby was found. Other witnesses included sheriff’s detectives who were involved in the original investigation and evidence collection.

The trial continues

The trial in front of York County Circuit Court Judge Bill McKinnon is expected to last several days. A jury was picked Monday but was not sworn in until Tuesday morning when the trial started.

For anyone to be convicted at trial, all 12 jurors must unanimously agree, South Carolina law states.