What to Know
- Authorities in New Jersey are asking for the public's help in identifying a newborn that was discovered dead a day after Thanksgiving 37 year ago.
- According to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, on the morning of Nov. 28, 1986, sanitation workers in South Orange found the baby on top of a trash can behind an apartment building on Cottage Street.
- The baby was wrapped in a towel and a yellow table runner and placed inside a wicker picnic basket on the trash can. Prosecutors say investigators believe the wicker basket may have been bought from a local store.
Authorities in New Jersey are asking for the public's help in identifying a newborn that was discovered dead a day after Thanksgiving 37 year ago.
According to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office, on the morning of Nov. 28, 1986, sanitation workers in South Orange found the baby on top of a trash can behind an apartment building on Cottage Street.
The baby was wrapped in a towel and a yellow table runner and placed inside a wicker picnic basket on the trash can. Prosecutors say investigators believe the wicker basket may have been bought from a local store.
Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.
The newborn, described by the prosecutor's office as a white baby boy weighing five pounds, still had his umbilical cord.
According to the prosecutor's office, detectives will use DNA evidence and genetic databases to assist them in identifying the parents and/or relatives of the infant, but they are asking the public's help in solving this decades-long case.
A photo of the towel used to wrap the baby was provided by authorities. It features the words: "Love Is Happiness" and drawings of what appear to be rag dolls.
News
Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Essex County Prosecutor's Office tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or email HomicideTips@njecpo.org.
