'Baby June' murder: Mom Arya Singh who threw newborn in Boyton Beach inlet would track news about infant
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PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: Investigators have detained "Baby June"s mother in relation to her death, more than four years after her body was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean in South Florida. According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Arya Singh, 29, has been recognized as the baby's mother and has been detained on a charge of first-degree murder. Singh would reportedly follow news stories about the infant's discovery and has been held "solely responsible" for the baby ending up in the Boynton Beach inlet.
The court documents show that Singh is a resident of Boynton Beach. She has been arrested and is being held without bond, according to NBC Miami. The authorities spent years attempting to identify the newborn dubbed "Baby June" since her body was discovered on June 1, 2018, and remained unidentified until now. An off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter had been aboard a charter boat near the Boynton Beach Inlet when he saw the body and called authorities.
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Shortly after the infant was discovered, a medical examiner's report declared the case as murder. Detectives first thought June was delivered in a hospital, but it was subsequently discovered she was born in a hotel room toilet. Investigators worked on the case for years and a $10,000 prize was offered, but after multiple leads remained unanswered, it was passed over to cold case detectives. "We were starting to look like we were heading to a dead-end," Palm Beach Sheriff's Capt Steven Strivelli said during a press conference on Thursday, December 15 afternoon at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, where investigators announced the arrest of Singh.
After the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office cold case unit took over, investigators were able to identify the father of the child and interviewed him. "He knew nothing about the baby," Detective Brittany Christoffel said, adding, "He knew that he had a girlfriend around that time (who) told him that she had been pregnant, but she had taken care of it," as reported by WPTV. Christoffel said the father believed she had an abortion. Christoffel said that investigators were able to collect a "covert DNA sample from her and confirm that she was the mother."
Christoffel informed that through a series of investigative tactics, detectives were able to search Singh's cellphone records and determined that she had been at the Boynton Beach inlet on May 30, 2018, about 40 hours before the baby's body was discovered.
Christoffel said Singh also searched news stories about the baby's discovery in the days that followed. "But she's never come forward in all this time," Christoffel said. Christoffel said Singh was taken into custody on Thursday after determining that she "was solely responsible for the baby ending up in the Boynton Beach Inlet."
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said Singh is being charged with first-degree murder. Christoffel said the 29-year-old Boynton Beach resident confessed to the crime. "According to the mother, she didn't know she was pregnant up until the time she gave birth, and she said that when the baby was born, she wasn't sure if the baby was alive or dead, and that was that," Christoffel said, adding, "By the time the baby went into the inlet, she was already deceased."
A report mentioned that it was discovered Singh had given birth to the girl on May 30 "in a hotel room toilet. Then kept baby in the backpack, left in car and went to school. Same night she threw body into the Boyton Beach Inlet." Also, GPS data and cell phone records showed she was at the inlet on that day, authorities said. About 40 hours later, the baby's body was discovered.
Per @PBCountySheriff : #BabyJune’s mother gave birth in a hotel room toilet. Then kept baby in backpack, left backpack in car & went to school. That same night she threw body into the Boyton Beach Inlet. @nbc6 pic.twitter.com/9UcYZ8upbd
— Laura Rodriguez (@LauraNBC6) December 15, 2022