Forensic science has led to the identification of the mother of an infant found dead by the side of a rural road in the unincorporated community of Las Lomas in Monterey County 30 years ago, the Sheriff’s Office said. Now the woman is being charged with murder.

On Dec. 3, 1994, a man was searching for bottles and cans near the area of Garin and Lewis roads in Las Lomas, south of Pajaro, when he came upon a paper bag. When he opened it, he discovered an infant in a disposable diaper, turquoise sleeping suit, blue jumper, white t-shirt, a stocking style cap and little white socks, wrapped in a striped baby blanket.

The infant boy — now known as Baby Garin — was dead.

A medical examiner confirmed that the child had been born viable and was not stillborn, yet had only been a few days old when he died. The pathologist could not determine the cause of death but believed it was a homicide.

At the time, detectives followed several leads, but the case ultimately went cold.

DNA solves the mystery

In 2023, investigators eventually decided to use DNA to try and crack the case. Evidence was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice, which used a lab in Texas to create Baby Garin’s DNA profile. From there genealogy experts lead detectives to the baby’s mother, Pamela Ferreyra, 60, who was arrested in Watsonville on Oct. 17.

A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson delivered a statement from Monterey County Sheriff Tina Nieto saying that they chose to call the infant Garin not only for the area in which he was discovered, but because of the meaning of the word “Garin.”

“We named the baby Garin not only for the area where he was found but also because we stand as guardians for our community,” said Nieto in a statement. “The name Garin means protection. Every child deserves protection and people to advocate and seek justice for them.”

Ferreyra was still in custody as of Sunday.

The case was handled by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and Monterey County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Homicide Task Force.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.