One morning in September of 2002, a newborn boy – now called Baby John Doe – was discovered dead by employees of L&M Auto Repair in Brighton, CO. The staff, who were arriving at work, spotted him under a nearby bush.
Today, the Weld County Sheriff’s Office, or WCSO, and Othram are teaming up to identify Baby John Doe or a living relative through a specialized type of DNA extraction and analysis, a WCSO press release states. According to the company’s website, Othram is the world’s first private DNA laboratory built specifically to apply the power of modern parallel sequencing to forensic evidence.
Baby John Doe was found wrapped in a blue blanket with a note that contained the words “Skate Bear” and a corresponding graphic.
Initial investigations revealed Baby John Doe had dark hair, his ancestry was estimated to potentially be white, Latino and/or Italian and he weighed about 7 pounds and was 21 inches long at the time of his death, according to the press release.
“Pathologists determined the infant had been born healthy between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. the prior evening, but they were unable to definitively establish a cause of death,” the press release states.
Other than the blanket and note, there were no clues at the scene which indicated anything about Baby John Doe’s identity or the circumstances of his death. Investigators pursued all available investigative leads and tips at the time but were unable to identify Baby John Doe and the case went cold.
“(The Baby John Doe) case is a real enigma — there really isn’t very much evidence,” Byron Kastilhan, the cold case detective at WCSO, said. “That’s why we’re pursuing genetic genealogy to try to find relatives that would narrow it down to find out who the mother was.”
WSCO recently contributed funds to help cover the $5,000 cost of Othram’s services which include building a comprehensive genealogical profile for Baby John Joe, DNA testing and additional genealogical research, according to the press release.
“It is essential to address what the National Institute of Justice calls the 'silent mass disaster' of the tens of thousands of unidentified persons in our country,” said Othram CEO David Mittelman. “However, many of these cases do not have sufficient funding support and it is an honor to be able to financially assist some of these investigations through our DNASolves platform.”
A DNASolves.com crowdfunding account has been created to raise funds for the remaining casework costs. To donate, visit DNASolves.com/articles/weld_baby_doe.
“We're up to $2,168.36, which is just shy of half of our $5,000 goal,” the press release states. “Please continue to share this post as we try to find answers in this almost 20-year-old cold case. Brighton Baby John Doe's story deserves to be told.”
Anyone with information about Baby John Doe is encouraged to contact Cold Case Det. Byron Kastilahn at (970) 356-4015. Reference case number WC02-4535. The case also is logged in NamUs as UP10386.
Anyone with information regarding this or any other crime is asked to call the Weld County Sheriff’s Office at (970) 356-4015 or Northern Colorado Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website at www.NoCoCrimeStoppers.com. Those submitting tips through Crime Stoppers that lead to the arrest and filing of charges on a suspect(s) may be eligible for a cash reward.
