Newborn Baby Found on Mississippi Highway Identified Over 30 Years Later

GULFPORT, MS – On Monday, October 14, 2024, Sheriff Matt Haley announced the identification of baby Mary Josephine, a newborn baby girl found deceased in Gulfport, MS over thirty years ago.

According to Sheriff Haley, the baby was found on I-10 near the Lorraine Road exit in Gulfport, MS on December 21, 1993. An autopsy was performed, which determined the cause of death as blood loss and exposure. The death was ruled as a homicide.

Bradford O’Keefe Funeral Home gave her a proper burial at Floral Hills Memorial Garden in Gulfport, and she was given the name “Mary Josephine”. Investigators were unable to find the mother in this case at the time, and the case went cold.

On December 7, 2023, Harrison County Criminal Investigations Division (CID), 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 obtain DNA to help investigators identify her. Othram Inc., a DNA/Genealogy company in Houston, Texas, performed the DNA testing and Forensic Genetic Genealogy.

CID obtained the results from Othram Inc. on October 10, which included identified relatives of Mary Josephine. After conducting several interviews, investigators identified the possible mother of the baby. Investigators then obtained a search warrant for DNA comparison on who they believed to be the mother.

The following day, investigators attempted to contact the possible mother of Mary Josephine in Gautier, MS. Subsequently, entry was made into the woman’s residence, and she was found deceased. Her death was determined to be a suicide. Investigators located a letter inside the residence, in which the woman claimed to be the mother of Mary Josephine.

Sheriff 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.