BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) — Investigators have ruled the death of a newborn baby found floating off the coast of Boynton Beach a homicide.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference Monday and announced the recent development in the case.
“The medical examiner’s rulings are in, and this case is a homicide,” said Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Steven Strivelli.
Investigators said details surrounding the death of the infant remain scarce, and they are hoping for the public to come forward with more information.
“We’ve received a total of 16 tips, and I say that’s not very much for this case,” Strivelli said. “None of those tips have led to anything for us.”
The infant was found in June after an off-duty firefighter spotted her floating in the ocean.
Investigators believe the infant, dubbed “Baby June,” was born between May 25 and May 28. Detectives believe she was in the water between six and 18 hours and that she may have drifted from Broward County, based on the tide.
“We’ve checked every baby in the date ranges that we suspect this child was born, Palm Beach and Broward,” said Strivelli. “It was a multi-agency response. Massive undertaking, like 700 babies were checked.”
The baby had a heel prick, indicating that she could have been born at a hospital or a private birthing center or with the help of a midwife.
Detectives said she is half-African and half-Central Asian, and most often, you could see a mix like that in certain Caribbean islands.
“Very unusual split and most often a person with this 50/50 split would be found in areas like Barbados, Trinidad or Jamaica,” said Strivelli.
Investigators have even reached out to officials in the Bahamas without any luck. Miami-Dade County may be next in the search, but it is expected to be another massive undertaking.
“We need the parents, we need to know who the parents are,” said Strivelli, “and we need to know any relatives that we can start talking to. Maybe there’s an explanation, albeit a strange one.”
Now police hope the public can help in solving the mystery surrounding Baby June.
“We don’t have a good explanation for what happened and why it happened, and that’s the most frustrating part,” said Strivelli. “We want to bring closure to this case.”
There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest in the case. If you have any information, call Palm Beach Crime Stoppers at 1-800-458-TIPS.
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