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North Carolina Mother Charged After Infant Found in Landfill in 1979
DNA technology breakthroughs led to the arrest of Cathy McKee, charged with felony concealing the birth after nearly 50 years of investigation by Columbus County authorities.
- On Tuesday, Feb. 24, Columbus County Sheriff's Office arrested Cathy McKee, 69-year-old Whiteville resident, charging her with felony concealing the birth of a child, solving a nearly five-decade cold case.
- Using modern DNA methods, investigators were able to identify McKee as the infant's mother, after the case was reopened more than a year ago by Columbus County detectives and the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation.
- In 1979, investigators said the case became one of the county's oldest unsolved cases after the body of a newborn girl was found inside a trash bag at the landfill, and all leads were exhausted.
- Sheriff Bill Rogers noted that because the crime happened in 1979, the defendant was charged under laws then and would likely face murder today.
- Preserved evidence allowed investigators to use new tests, with multiple agencies including the FBI and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, enabling the case breakthrough, Sheriff Bill Rogers said, `Their dedication ensured this baby girl's story would never be lost.
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After 47 years, Columbus County authorities solve 1979 infant cold case
COLUMBUS COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Nearly five decades after a newborn baby girl was found dead at a county landfill, authorities say they have solved one of Columbus County’s oldest cold cases. On Tuesday, investigators with the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division, working alongside the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Coastal District and the SBI Cold Case Unit, arrested Cathy McKee, 69, of Whiteville. She …
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