WATSONVILLE – A woman from Watsonville was arrested Thursday morning in connection to 30-year-old cold case about a deceased baby boy found in Las Lomas.
Pamela Ferreyra, 60, was charged with one count of murder and booked into Monterey County Jail. Ferreyra is accused of dumping the newborn on the side of Garin Road, where he was found later by a random passerby.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference Thursday, detailing how the infant was found, referring to him as “Baby Garin.”
“On December 3, 1994 a person who was looking for recyclables along Garin Road located a paper bag. He opened up that paper bag and discovered something that nobody ever wants to find,” said Commander Andres Rosas, Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
The person found a deceased infant boy dressed and wrapped inside a blanket. At the time, a cause of death could not be determined, but the pathologist was able to discern that Baby Garin was just a few days old and was living when he died, not stillborn.
The case went unsolved until 2023 when the department reached out to third-parties for assistance. The department has been working with Othram, a private forensics lab based in Texas, who was able to produce a DNA profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogy testing. The information led investigators to the family of Baby Garin, and ultimately his mother.
When police arrived at Ferreyra’s home, she went with them without incident.
“If you ask any law enforcement professional, they will tell you that the hardest case to investigate is any involving crimes against children,” Rosas said. “These are emotional cases that one does not easily forget.”
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