Abandoned 'Baby Mary' Cold Case Opened 30 Years After Homicide Shocks Mendham Twp.

The photo hangs on the wall like so many other adornments in the office. But the emotion it elicits weighs heavier, both on minds and hearts, than any other case the Mendham Township Police Department has seen.

It’s more than just a photo. It’s a life – one abandoned, never given the chance to thrive – that brings out emotions in even the strongest of law enforcement officials.

That’s why Chief Steve Crawford of the Mendham Township Police Department decided earlier this year to open a 30-year-old cold case with the hopes of solving the longest-standing mystery in the town’s storied history.

“We want it to bring closure for both this agency and the mother of the child,” Crawford said.

On Christmas Eve, 1984, police responded to a small waterfall off Mt. Pleasant Road in the township. Two boys had gone fishing on a reasonably warm day for the season, and found a black bag placed on a rock near the river. Inside the bag, the boys were faced with a horrific scene, one surely they have never forgotten.

It was the body of a baby who had died from exposure and hypothermia, and was estimated to have been abandoned within the past 24 hours.

She was formally named Mary by Father Mike Drury, a chaplain for the police department who arrived on scene, and was later adopted by the agency.

Read more: Sadness, Confusion Engulfs Community After Abandoned Baby Found

The scene is no different three decades later, nor the outcome. But the amount of resources available to law enforcement has grown exponentially since 1984, and with the opening of the case comes hope that justice will be served.

The Baby Mary case has been opened a handful of times since that tragic Christmas Eve, sometimes with evidence growing, but no solution being found.

“I’m very confident in our detectives,” Crawford said. “I really think they’re going to pull it out.” If a person is named in connection with the incident, charges may still be brought forth, Crawford said. While homicide charges are possible, there could be offset charges depending on evidence.

Mendham Township Detectives James Arnesen and Jason Morrison have taken the lead on the case, with assistance from Sergeants Steve Bittman and Daniel Taquinto.

One major difference in this investigation – which will be the final one, Crawford said – is the aid from outside agencies with more plentiful resources. Detective Michael Gomez of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office as well as members of the New Jersey State Police are also involved.

Asking for assistance from the larger agencies has been no issue at all, Arnesen said, and all have been able to work well together and have met regularly.

Additional tissue samples from Baby Mary have been given to the state for further testing, and police are expecting results in the coming weeks.

“We’ve really given (the case) all we have and attacked it as aggressively as we could,” Arnesen said.

The photo hangs in Lt. Ross Johnson’s office on a plaque from the five-year anniversary of those two boys coming upon Baby Mary. It’s a daily reminder of sadness that encompassed a community, of a death that could have been avoided.

“Everyone here feels we have an obligation to bring justice, to bring closure to someone – a baby – who couldn’t speak for itself,” Johnson said.