Florida Police Discover Three Newborns Abandoned Years Apart Are Siblings

Genetic tests show the babies share the same mom and dad.

April 24, 2020

Abandoned newborn [screenshot from WOGX]

Abandoned newborn [screenshot from WOGX]

By: Aaron Rasmussen

Orlando police used genetic testing to determine three newborns that were born and abandoned over a three-year period are related, public documents reveal.

The babies were each found at the Willow Key Apartments — one in 2016, another in 2017, and the last in 2019, NBC News reported.

The children’s connection with each other came to light after police requested $2,500 from the city council to pay for the genetic tests.

A note discovered with the third sibling, who was discovered on the doorstep of a tenant at the apartment complex in July 2019, “explained the baby was left at the location because the mother was in fear of the child's father," Orlando police Det. Ghena Luker wrote city lawmakers in a funding memo.

The handwritten note that accompanied the latest abandoned newborn [screenshot from WOGX]

On Tuesday, police released a statement confirming DNA tests prove all three children share the same mother and father.

"If we are able to identify the mother, her safety is our top priority, as well as the safety of any other potential children,” Florida officials said of the ongoing investigation.

According to police, Florida’s Safe Haven Law allows a parent to anonymously surrender their unharmed newborn, who must be less than one week old, at a fire station, emergency medical services station or hospital.

While it’s unclear if the parents would face charges if found, an Orlando police spokesperson said decisions are made on a “case-by-case basis,” NBC News reported.

Read more: Daily Mail

Next Up

5 Things That Still Bother Us About The Unsolved Maura Murray Case

On Feb. 9, 2004, UMass Amherst student Maura Murray left campus and crashed her car in Haverhill, New Hampshire. She has never been seen since.

Death, Drugs & Deceit: A Timeline of the Murdaugh Family Mystery

On March 3, 2023, Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of the June 2021 murders of his wife and son.

In February 2001, Steven Kraft, Jr. Took His Dogs Outside And Disappeared

Over two decades ago, a 12-year-old boy went missing from outside his home in Benton Harbor, Michigan. The two dogs he was playing with have since been found but he remains missing.

Diamond And Tionda Bradley Vanished In 2001

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children said thousands of leads have come in over the years on this case, but the girls (now women) have never been located.

West Mesa Murders: Serial Killer Who Slayed, Buried 11 Victims Remains Unidentified

“We need new information on this case, that is what is going to lead to it getting solved,” the city’s mayor says of whoever killed the girls and women.

The Mysterious Murder Of Syracuse Teen Remains Unsolved

While the nation was focused on The New York Giants and Baltimore Ravens playing in Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida, a young woman in Syracuse, New York, met a violent end.

Man Convicted Of Killing Couple, Their 2 Sons, 10 Years After Family’s Skeletal Remains Found In Desert

ID’s 'Two Shallow Graves' explores the controversial murder trial of Charles “Chase” Merritt.

Joe Exotic: Tigers, Lies and Cover-Up on ID

The two-night event Joe Exotic: Tigers, Lies and Cover-Up begins Sunday September 27 at 9/8c.

Store Clerk Deborah Deann Poe Disappeared During Overnight Shift At An Orlando Gas Station

An ambitious Florida woman vanished without a trace during her Feb. 4, 1990 shift at a convenience store. The case remains unsolved.