Who Abandoned This Baby In North Jersey? Essex County Prosecutors Want To Know

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — On the day after Thanksgiving in 1986, sanitation workers found a lifeless newborn baby atop a trash can in Essex County.

As detectives in the county prosecutor's office try to use DNA evidence to find the baby's parents, they're asking the public to help solve the case.

The Essex County Prosecutor's Office sent out a release this past Friday, the 37th anniversary of the baby's discovery, asking for help.

They said that on the morning of Nov. 28, 1986, sanitation workers found the baby behind an apartment building at 5 Cottage St. in South Orange. The community is just off Route 510.

"The body was wrapped in a towel and a yellow table runner and placed in a wicker picnic basket, which was left on the trash can," prosecutors said.

The baby was white, a boy, weighed five pounds, and still had his umbilical cord, prosecutors said.

Detectives intend to use DNA evidence and genetic databases to identify the parents or relatives of the baby, but they would still like the public's help, they said.

When asked why they're reaching out now, County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Robert Florida said, "Open cases are continuously [investigated]. That’s why we are on this case."

He said prosecutors don't know where either parent lived.

"We cannot comment on what evidence (including DNA) that we have," he said. He also didn't elaborate on how the baby died, but said that it didn't appear to be a death from natural causes.

"The manner of death is homicide," he said.

The child appeared to be "days" old, he said, although prosecutors don't have an exact number.

"Photos of the towel, the table runner, and the wicker basket are attached," said the release. "Investigators suspect the basket may have been bought from a local store."

Anyone with information about the case should please call the prosecutors' tip line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or email HomicideTips@njecpo.org. The information can be kept confidential.

Safe Havens To Drop Off Babies

The state of New Jersey passed its "Safe Haven" law in 2000. Officials encourage anyone who is scared, confused, or panicking to drop a baby off at a "safe haven," where the parent will be kept anonymous and the baby will be well taken care of.

"The parents — or someone acting on their behalf — can leave an unharmed baby less than 30 days old with staff at any hospital, police station, fire station, ambulance, first aid or rescue squad," the state says. "The New Jersey Department of Children and Families will ensure that the infant is placed with a foster or pre-adoptive home."

Find out more here.