Case of ‘Baby June,’ found dead off Florida coast, now a homicide, police say
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Authorities have ruled the death of an infant -- dubbed “Baby June” -- as a homicide, months after her body was found floating in the water off the Florida coast.
The child’s death has led to 16 tips since the body was found floating 75 to 100 feet off the Boynton Beach Inlet in June — but no solid leads have emerged as authorities struggle to identify the baby. Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Capt. Steven Strivelli said in a Monday news conference that the medical examiner determined Baby June’s death was a homicide. He did not reveal further information that led to the ruling.
The baby was 4 to 7 days old, placing her possible birthdate sometime between May 25 and May 28. The baby had been floating in the water 16 to 18 hours before Off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter Chris Lemieux spotted the body floating in the water.
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"We hate seeing this and we want to get to the bottom of what happened," Strivelli said. "We're not going to stop here. This case is not going to close until we get completion."
BABY, NO MORE THAN 14 DAYS OLD, FOUND DEAD OFF FLORIDA COAST
Strivelli said all the babies born between the May date range in Palm Beach and Broward counties have been checked.
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“No leads, no lost babies in that mix,” Strivelli said.
Investigators believe the child was most likely born in a hospital or at a private birthing center, Strivelli said. The child’s umbilical cord had been clipped and there was a heel prick in the foot.
"Some hospital, somewhere, has evidence of this child being born. We just haven’t found it yet," he said.
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DNA tests showed the child was half Central Asian and African, which Strivelli said was a “very unusual split." People with the genetic composition usually are from Barbados, Trinidad or Jamaica. He added that there are no known relatives in Palm Beach Sheriff's Office's database.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information that would lead to an arrest.