Mom charged with murder 29 years after she allegedly left baby to die in cardboard box
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Charges have been upgraded against a South Carolina woman accused of leaving her newborn daughter to die in a cardboard box in an empty field.
Brook Graham was arrested earlier this month and charged with homicide by child abuse, 29 years after her daughter’s death.
Prosecutors upgraded that charge to murder last week.
A man was picking flowers in the vacant field to prepare for Valentine’s Day in 1990 when he found the baby now known as Julie Valentine.
Julie was born alive outside of a hospital. She was found dead, wrapped in newspaper and bedding with her umbilical cord and placenta still attached. It’s unclear why she was abandoned.
Authorities said DNA submitted to genealogy sites revealed a likely match to the baby’s father, who then pointed police to Graham.