A California mother has been charged with murdering her newborn son, who was found dead in a paper bag on the side of the road 30 years ago.
Pamela Ferreyra, 60, was arrested Thursday after she was linked to the cold case through DNA testing, which determined she was the mother of the child found in 1994.
Authorities said at a news conference that Ferreyra was arrested at her home and is being held on $1 million bail on a murder charge.
Just two weeks before his arrest, Ferreyra had received an outpouring of support after sharing a post on Facebook marking the death of his other son, saying he “cries every day” since he died 10 months before the age of 32. The circumstances of that death are unclear.
Pamela Ferreyra, 60, has been accused of murdering her newborn son who was found dead in a paper bag on the side of the road 30 years ago.
The newborn boy was tragically found dead by a can collector on the side of the road inside a plastic bag, however authorities said this week it was unclear whether the baby was alive or dead when he was dumped.
At Thursday’s news conference, Monterey County Sheriff Tina M. Nieto said authorities named the boy ‘Baby Garin’ because ‘Garin means protection.’
“All children deserve protection and people to defend them and seek justice for them,” he said.
Monterey County Sheriff’s Commander Andres Rosas added that when the baby was discovered, the can collector “opened that paper bag and discovered something that no one ever wants to find.”
“If you ask any law enforcement professional, they will tell you that the most difficult case to investigate is the one involving crimes against children,” Rosas said.
“These are emotional cases that you don’t forget easily, if ever.”
Ferreyra, a nurse and mother, is charged with one count of murder and is being held on $1 million bail.
Just two weeks before her arrest, Ferreyra shared a post on Facebook about her “grief” over the death of her son, Nicholas (pictured together), who died last year at age 32.
An autopsy found that Baby Garin was born alive, but the cause of death could not be determined and it was unclear whether he died before being abandoned on the side of the road.
The case of the baby’s death remained unsolved for 30 years, until the investigation was reopened last year due to advances in DNA technology.
Rosas said this meant authorities had new “investigative clues about who the family of this baby, Garín, could be.”
“Detectives from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Task Force were able to conduct follow-up interviews and obtain DNA samples, which ultimately led to the identification of Baby Garin’s mother,” he said.
According to her Facebook page, Ferreyra works as a home health care provider.
It is unclear how many children she has, however, earlier this month she shared a post marking the 10-month anniversary of the death of her son, Nicholas, who died aged 32.
At a news conference after Ferreyra’s arrest, California officials said they were “happy that this day has come and that we can do something about this situation that happened 30 years ago.”
‘It’s difficult. I’m new to this journey. I cry almost every day. Some days I feel hope, peace, love and happiness. “Grief is entangled in every aspect of my life,” she wrote. “Some days I cry just because I saw a photo or video of Nicholas.”
‘I wish this weren’t true. I wish it wasn’t him. But the truth of real pain is that the options are limited. Grow and move forward, or stop and let it slowly ruin and kill you and everyone around you.
‘There is joy in pain because there was a lot of love. And we are learning that. I have no choice but to choose to be stronger than the day before. Work so hard.
Ferreyera did not share more details about how his Nicolás had died.
Speaking after Ferreyra’s arrest, Deputy Prosecutor Matt L’Heureux said he was pleased to see an arrest made so long after the baby’s death.
“Some of them seem to think they’ve gotten away with it and they’re very surprised,” he said.
‘Some of them have been waiting for a knock on the door for decades. I couldn’t tell you what situation it belongs to, but we are happy that this day has come and that we can do something about this situation that happened 30 years ago.’