Authorities in Massachusetts announced this week that DNA evidence from a soda bottle has allegedly connected Dianne Curry Peck to the 1985 death of her newborn son. The child’s body was found in the woods by a father and son out hunting.
Dianne Curry Peck, now 59, appeared in court where she pleaded not guilty to a murder charge relating to the death of the boy, known as “Baby Boy Doe” of Mansfield, Massachusetts.
Few cases are more heartbreaking than one involving a newborn baby, allegedly abandoned and left to die in the woods by his mother, deprived of the care, love, and protection every child deserves,
said FBI Boston Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Docks outside the courthouse. For 41 years, this child was known simply as Baby Boy Doe. He entered this world with limitless promise but was denied the most basic right to live.
The newborn was discovered on January 26, 1985, when a father and son saw footprints in the snow. They initially thought the sight was a doll but soon realized it was a naked infant, according to WCVB reports.
An autopsy confirmed the child was born alive and died shortly after birth. Kenneth Martin, a former Massachusetts State Police trooper, recalled seeing the baby with an attached umbilical cord.
The Mansfield Police Department, supported by former New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan, funded the baby’s funeral.
The case was revisited in 2022 by Bristol County investigators working alongside the FBI and state authorities. Through forensic genetic genealogy, DNA from the baby led them to Peck.
Authorities said DNA from a soda bottle found in her trash matched that link.
During the birth, Peck was a 17-year-old student at Mansfield High School. She allegedly admitted giving birth in the backseat of her ex-boyfriend’s car, as reported by Boston 25.
Peck claimed she handed the baby to her ex-boyfriend, believing he knew someone who would adopt it. She believed she had given birth to a girl and lost touch with him. He passed away in 2020.
Prosecutors found no evidence suggesting anyone knew about the pregnancy. They noted discrepancies in Peck’s accounts regarding the birth and the baby’s condition when found.
According to medical examiners, the infant may have been in the woods for only about 12 hours before being discovered.
Fox News Digital has contacted the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and Peck’s legal representative for comment.
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