A Watsonville woman was arrested on Thursday morning for the murder of her newborn son, whose body was discovered 30 years ago in Monterey County, California.
Pamela Ferreyra, 60, was charged with one count of murder in the death of an infant discovered in 1994 along Garin Road in the Las Lomas area, according to a statement by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Technological advances in DNA profiling led authorities to the identification of Ferreyra, who was arrested at her home without incident, sheriff’s office spokesperson Andres Rosas said at a news conference.
Assistant District Attorney Matt L’Heureux said it is his understanding that Ferreyra has other children.
In Dec. 1994, a person searching for recyclables along Garin Road found a paper bag and “discovered something that nobody ever wants to find,” Rosas said. “When the person looked inside, they discovered the deceased baby boy’s body.” Officials called the victim “Baby Garin” because of where he was found.
“This is a sad situation all around,” Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto said in a quote read by Rosas. “We named the baby ‘Garin,’ not only for the area where he was found but also because we stand as guardians for our community. The name ‘Garin’ means protection. Every child deserves protection and people to advocate and seek justice for them.”
Rosas said that when found, Baby Garin was wearing a disposable diaper, a white t-shirt, a turquoise sleeper suit, a blue jumper, white socks, and a stocking-style cap, and was wrapped in a pink and blue striped blanket.
An autopsy revealed that Baby Garin was several days old when he died and was not stillborn, though it could not reveal the cause of death, Rosas said.
“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, if ever, forget.”
The investigation was reopened in early 2023 after remaining unsolved for three decades, as advances in DNA technology presented a breakthrough for investigators.
Forensic evidence was sent to the California Department of Justice lab before being forwarded to Othram, a Texas-based private forensic lab, who created a DNA profile suitable for forensic genetic genealogy, Rosas said. A Colorado-based investigative genetic genealogy company, Solved by DNA, was finally able to supply investigative leads on the victim’s family, which eventually led to the identification of Ferreyra.
According to L’Heureux, the district attorney’s office has sufficient evidence to charge the mother with murder. At the news conference, he also fielded questions from reporters about the perpetrators of cold case crimes.
“Some of them seem to think that they have gotten away with it and are very surprised,” L’Heureux said. “Some of them have been waiting for that knock on the door for decades. I couldn’t tell you which situation this falls under, but we’re happy that this day has come and that we’re able to do something about this situation that happened 30 years ago.”