Twenty-three years ago, a newborn boy’s body had been discovered inside a trash can in the restroom of a Seattle gas station. Now authorities say that the baby’s mom was finally identified thanks to her putting her own DNA information online.
Christine Marie Warren, 50, eluded police for more than two decades until her March 11 arrest. She is expected to be charged with second-degree murder on Monday.
On Nov. 20, 1997, employees at a Chevron gas station discovered the baby’s remains: “The King County Medical Examiner determined the child and SPD detectives began investigating the case as a homicide.”
Despite surveillance photos caught of the mother leaving the scene and witnesses' accounts, investigators were unable to name a suspect or identify the mother.
"However, investigators were able to obtain DNA evidence from the scene. This evidence was entered into the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab’s database."
Warren led detectives to identify her when she uploaded her DNA to an online genealogy website ad she “opted not to make her data private.”
The Seattle community had been shocked by the baby’s murder and amassed donations to organize a funeral for him. On his headstone, they wrote: “Baby Boy Doe: November 18, 1997. We Care.”
