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Vermont State Police Complete Investigation into Death of Baby Doe

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Vermont State Police have announced a conclusion to their investigation into the unexplained death of an infant found in Washington County over 40 years ago. On Wednesday, state police said they have declared the investigation into Baby Doe’s 1982 death officially closed and will not file charges. The investigation began on April 1, 1982, when children waiting for a school bus on what is now Gillespie Road in Northfield found a dead infant just off the road. The body belonged to a recently born boy, who was named Baby Doe after police were unable to identify the remains. An autopsy performed after the discovery revealed that the infant was full-term and showed signs of existing medical conditions, but the cause and manner of death were ruled undetermined. The baby was named Matthew Isaac Doe and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery after a funeral service later that month. Although the manner of death was never ruled a homicide, investigators always treated this case as a homicide until that classification could be ruled out. Decades later, in 2020, Vermont State Police worked with Virginia-based DNA technology company Parabon NanoLabs and were finally able to obtain DNA samples from a woman taken from swabs taken from the infant and items in which he was found bundled. This evidence allowed police to get a lead on the possible names of the biological mother and father of Matthew Isaac, a couple with ties to the Northfield area in 1982. VSP worked with Maine State Police to contact the individuals at their Maine home and were able to confirm through additional DNA testing that they were the baby’s biological parents. The biological father told police he left Vermont in 1982 and knew nothing of the pregnancy or disposal of the deceased infant. The biological mother admitted to police that she was responsible for the wrongful disposal of the dead infant. She said she did not know she was pregnant, and when she finally realized she was going into labor, she lay alone in labor for several hours before losing consciousness. When she awoke, she told police she had given birth to a boy, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and the infant did not survive. The woman said she wanted to give the baby a proper burial and planned to find a place in the woods to bury him, but on the way there, she thought she heard voices and turned to run away, dropping the body. She continued running and did not stop to retrieve the infant. Investigators met with the Washington County District Attorney to review these new facts along with the autopsy information and concluded that a murder charge was not warranted. The charge related to unauthorized disposal of a body is statute-barred, and therefore no criminal charges can be filed in this death investigation. Because this investigation has not resulted in criminal charges, the names of Matthew Isaac’s parents will not be released. VSP thanked citizens who have contributed information over the years and those who have donated money to fund the genetic testing and analysis that helped locate the biological parents. VSP is hosting a media event Wednesday afternoon to discuss the details of the case. NBC5 will provide more information after the media event concludes.

NORTHFIELD, Vermont —

Vermont State Police have announced the completion of their investigation into the unexplained death of an infant found in Washington County more than 40 years ago.

On Wednesday, state police said the investigation into Baby Doe’s death in 1982 was officially closed and no charges would be filed.

Police said their investigation began on April 1, 1982, when children waiting for a school bus on what is now Gillespie Road in Northfield found a dead baby just off the side of the road. The body belonged to a recently born boy, who was named Baby Doe after police could not identify the remains.

An autopsy conducted after the discovery revealed that the child was full-term and showed signs of pre-existing medical conditions, but the cause and manner of death were ruled undetermined. The baby was named Matthew Isaac Doe and was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery following a memorial service later that month.

Gravestone for Matthew Isaac Doe

Although the manner of death was never classified as a homicide, investigators always treated this case as a homicide until that classification could be ruled out.

Decades later, in 2020, the Vermont State Police partnered with Virginia-based DNA technology company Parabon NanoLabs and was finally able to obtain DNA samples from a woman taken from swabs taken from the infant and from items in which he was found bundled.

Using this evidence, police were able to obtain a lead on the possible names of the biological mother and father of Matthew Isaac, a couple with ties to the Northfield area in 1982. VSP worked with Maine State Police to contact the individuals at their Maine home and was able to confirm through additional DNA testing that they were the baby’s biological parents.

The biological father told police that he left Vermont in 1982 and knew nothing about the pregnancy or the disposal of the dead infant.

The biological mother admitted to police that she was responsible for the illegal disposal of the dead child. She said she did not know she was pregnant and when she finally realized she was going into labor, she lay alone in labor for several hours before losing consciousness.

When she woke up, she told police that she had given birth to a boy, but the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and the child did not survive.

The woman said she wanted to give the baby a proper burial and planned to find a place in the forest where she could bury it. On the way there, however, she heard voices and started running, dropping the body. She continued running and did not stop to get the baby.

Investigators met with the Washington County District Attorney to review these new facts as well as the autopsy information and concluded that a murder charge was not warranted.

It has been determined that the charge related to the unauthorized disposal of a body is statute-barred, and therefore no criminal charges can be filed in this death investigation.

Because this investigation has not resulted in any charges, the names of Matthew Isaac’s parents are not being released.

VSP thanked members of the public who have contributed information over the years and all those who have contributed financially to fund the genetic testing and analysis that made it possible to locate the biological parents.

VSP will host a media presence on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the details of the case. NBC5 will provide additional information after the media presence concludes.

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