California mom sentenced for abandoning newborn to die in 1994
02/19/2026 3:55 pm PST
SALINAS, Calif. (TCN) -- A woman has been sentenced to 13 years and four months in state prison in connection with the abandonment and subsequent death of her newborn son in 1994.
in December 2025, 61-year-old Pamela Ferreyra pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of felony child abuse, KSBW reports.
The partial remains of a newborn baby boy were found stuffed in a grocery bag by a man who was collecting aluminum cans on Dec. 3, 1994. An autopsy determined the child was 2 to 3 days old, had been born alive, and had not been fed in 24 hours. There were no leads at the time to identify the baby’s parents and a missing person report was never filed. He became known as Baby Garin after being found on Garin Road in Prunedale, California, according to KSBW.
CBS News reports that in 2020, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office created the Cold Case Task Force, and DNA samples from Baby Garin’s remains were submitted for further testing.
DNA analysis identified the baby’s mother as Ferreyra and she was arrested in October 2024, KSBW reports. During her interview with authorities, she said she hid her pregnancy from her husband and children and gave birth at home. She said she dressed the baby boy, drove him to the location in Prunedale, and left him. She said she never went back to check on him.
An autopsy did not reveal his exact cause of death, according to KSBW.
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