GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - On Monday, October 14, Sheriff Matt Haley announced the identification of a dead newborn found on I-10 in 1993.

On December 21, 1993, a newborn baby was found dead on I-10 near the Lorraine Road exit in Gulfport.

An autopsy was performed, which determined the cause of death as blood loss and exposure. The manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Homes held a burial at Floral Hills Memorial Garden in Gulfport, where she was given the name “Mary Josephine”.

Investigators couldn’t find the mother at the time, and the case went cold.

On December 7, 2023, the Harrison County Criminal Investigations Division, with the help of the Harrison County District Attorney’s Office, was granted a court order to exhume the body of baby Mary Josephine to get DNA to help investigators identify her.

Othram Inc., a DNA/Genealogy company in Houston, Texas, performed the DNA testing and Forensic Genetic Genealogy.

The Criminal Investigations Agency got the results from Othram Inc., which included identified relatives of Mary Josephine.

Investigators were granted a search warrant for DNA comparison on who they believed to be the mother of the child.

On October 11, 2024, investigators attempted to contact the possible mother of Mary Josephine in Gautier.

Subsequently, officials made their way into the possible mother’s home, where she was found dead by suicide.

While inside the home, investigators found a letter in which the woman claimed to be the mother of Mary Josephine.

Sheriff Matt Haley would like to thank Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home, Coroner Brian Switzer, Floral Hills Memorial Garden Cemetery, Harrison County District Attorney’s Office, MS State Medical Examiner’s Office, Gautier Police Department, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, and Othram Inc. for their assistance in this case.

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