Thirty years ago, a man searching for recyclables made a heartbreaking discovery along a narrow road in Las Lomas.
Las Lomas is a small rural community in Monterey County.
Inside a red paper bag, he found the lifeless body of a baby boy.
The body was wrapped in a pink and blue blanket.
While the coroner couldn’t determine the exact cause of death, they established the baby was only a few days old and had not been stillborn.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Office investigators quickly began searching the area near Garin and Lewis Roads.
They hoped to identify the infant and his mother, pursuing numerous leads
Sadly, the case eventually grew cold as the trail went dead.
However, on Thursday morning, after decades of uncertainty, sheriff’s investigators served an arrest warrant at a home in Watsonville.
The woman, believed to be the baby’s mother, was arrested on suspicion of murder.
Authorities identified her as 60-year-old Pamela Ferreyra.
According to Monterey County sheriff’s commander Andres Rosas, Ferreyra was taken into custody just six miles northwest of the Dec. 3, 1994, crime scene.
Although the circumstances behind the baby’s death remain unclear, investigators said they had gathered enough evidence to justify Ferreyra's arrest and felony charge.
She is expected to make her first court appearance on Friday.
During an afternoon news conference, Rosas read a statement from Monterey County Sheriff Tina M. Nieto, who was unable to attend.
In her statement, Nieto expressed sorrow over the case.
“This is a sad situation all around. We named the baby Garin, not only after the area where he was found but also because we stand as guardians for our community” she said.
“The name Garin means protection. Every child deserves protection and advocates who will seek justice for them,” she added.
Rosas explained that the case was reopened last year when a cold case task force from the Monterey County district attorney’s office partnered with sheriff’s investigators.
DNA forensic evidence was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice.
From there, it was forwarded to a lab in Texas, which successfully developed a DNA profile.
This DNA strand was then sent to a genealogy company in Colorado, which provided new leads.
According to Rosas, task force detectives conducted follow-up interviews and obtained DNA samples.
This ultimately led to the identification of Baby Garin’s mother.
Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Matthew L’Heureux praised the cold case task force’s success.
He noted that over the past four years, it had solved nine homicides.
This has resulted in murder charges against nine suspects—four of whom have already been convicted, with five others awaiting trial.
L’Heureux expressed hope that Thursday’s arrest would inspire the public to come forward with information about other cold cases.
“These cases still matter,” he said.
“We care about all victims, no matter how long ago these crimes occurred. We won’t stop working until every case is solved.”
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