Bombshell breakthrough in cold case murder of Baby Moses found dumped in flowerbed nearly three decades ago
Police believe they have finally solved the heartbreaking cold case of ‘Baby Moses’, nearly three decades after the tiny victim was found dumped in a flower bed in a park.
Keri Mazzuca, now 52, was arrested Saturday and charged with murdering her newborn son before heartlessly dumping his body in Albany’s Washington Park 27 years ago in 1997, The Daily Gazette reported.
The baby was less than 12 hours old when he was discovered by horrified park workers on a late summer morning, a morning that would haunt the city for decades.
As the workers were busy planting the flowers, they came across the horrific scene: a partially charred blue pillowcase with burnt matches scattered across it.
When they nudged the bundle with a shovel, the lifeless body of a newborn baby boy emerged.
Keri Mazzuca, now 52, was arrested Saturday, accused of murdering her newborn son and callously dumping his body in Albany’s Washington Park in 1997
The baby, less than 12 hours old, was discovered by horrified park workers late one summer morning and would haunt the city for decades.
The shocking discovery sparked a manhunt that would last nearly thirty years.
When the tracks were no longer running, the city of Albany refused to let “Baby Moses” be forgotten.
They even “adopted” the child and named him Moses Washington, after the statue in the park near where he was found.
The little victim was buried in a white coffin at Graceland Cemetery.
His grave was marked by a tombstone with a marble lamb on it.
The inscription reads: ‘Citizen of Albany, Child of God’.
But there has never been justice for baby Moses—until now.
FBI investigators identified a relative of the baby several years ago after analyzing the victim’s DNA.
City investigators worked with the New York State Police, the FBI and the Albany County District Attorney’s Office to identify and arrest the baby’s mother.
This genetic evidence led researchers to Mazzuca’s front door.
When Moses died, she lived only five blocks from the park.
DNA was subsequently recovered from trash outside Mazzuca’s current home in Guilderland, identifying a woman who was Baby Moses’ biological mother, police said.
The little victim was buried in a white casket at Graceland Cemetery
His grave was marked by a headstone with a marble lamb on it. The epitaph reads: ‘Citizen of Albany, Child of God’
Mazzuca is now being held in the Albany County Jail, charged with second-degree murder, concealment of a human corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
Just three years after Baby Moses’ death, the Abandoned Infant Protection Act was passed in New York.
This law allows parents to anonymously give up their baby up to 30 days old without being prosecuted.
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan said in a statement that the community was shocked and dismayed when the killing occurred.
“I remember the shock and disbelief throughout Albany when the body of ‘baby Moses’ was discovered,” Sheehan wrote.
“I want to commend the hardworking members of law enforcement, particularly within the Albany Police Department, who never gave up on seeking justice in this case. The closure of this 27-year-old murder case demonstrates once again the incredible dedication of the men and women of APD under the leadership of Chief Hawkins.”
Mazzuca pleaded not guilty in Albany County Superior Court and is being held without bail. She is due back in court on October 25.
One of the original detectives who worked the case, Officer Steven Riley, said News 13 that he had wanted to have a conversation with the suspect for 27 years to understand what had brought her to that point.
“I am no one’s judge, I am not her judge,” he said.