Louisiana police arrest alleged killers of baby found in trash bag in 1992

‘This breakthrough is a testament to the advancements in forensic technology and the dedication of law enforcement agencies,’ the Louisiana state police said. Photograph: Matt Rourke/AP

For more than three decades, answers surrounding the grisly death of a baby girl known to them simply as Baby Doe eluded Mississippi authorities. The infant’s body was discovered inside a garbage bag in the south-western Mississippi community of Picayune on 17 April 1992.

Authorities determined that someone had smothered Baby Doe and deemed her untimely death a homicide. Picayune police started to investigate, collecting evidence – some tying the infant to neighboring Louisiana, reportedly including local newspapers – but the case went cold.