PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. – The mother of an infant who was found floating in a Boynton Beach Inlet was arrested on Thursday, authorities with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office announced during a news conference.
About four and half years ago, on June 1st, 2018, an unidentified baby who detectives referred to as ‘Baby June’ was found floating in the Boynton Beach Inlet.
According to PBSO authorities, detectives combed through 22 tips and searched more than 700 baby records from Broward and Palm Beach counties at the time.
“It started to look like we were at a dead end,” a captain said during the news conference.
Detectives said the lab was then able to identify a father of the child, which then helped them identify the mother as 29-year-old Arya Singh.
The father didn’t know about the existence of the baby and was told by Singh who was pregnant at the time, that she “took care of it” thinking she had an abortion, the lead investigator said.
Medical examiners said a covert DNA sample from the mother confirmed she was related.
Detectives said search warrants for phone and GPS records connected the mother to the Boynton Beach Inlet 48 hours before the baby was found.
According to the lead investigator, Singh didn’t know she was pregnant until she gave birth on May 30, 2018, and was unaware if the baby was alive or dead after giving birth at a hotel.
Detectives said Singh chose the Boynton Beach inlet to dump her baby because she liked the location.
Authorities said the baby wasn’t born at the hospital and wasn’t named.
Officials said Singh didn’t know what to do with the infant and disposed of the baby in the inlet. Singh also told deputies that she worried about herself and her future.
Detectives said the baby was originally discovered by Chris Lemeaux, an off-duty Boynton Beach Firefighter, who was boating on the ocean side of the Boynton Beach Inlet when he saw what appeared to be a body floating.
According to BSO detectives, a medical examiner ruled the case a homicide and determined the baby was no more than 14 days old.
Medical examiners said the baby had a needle prick on her heel and her umbilical cord had been cut. That led detectives to believe she was born in a medical facility.
Investigators believe the baby was in the water for up to one day, and said it’s possible she’d drifted north from Broward County.
Authorities said testing was done to determine the child’s ethnicity and she was determined to be 50 percent Central Asian and 50 percent African.
“Today is a good day for justice,” said Dave Aronberg, State Attorney for Palm Beach County.
At the news conference, Aronberg commended the sheriff’s office for using new technology to solve cold cases that had hit the community.
Singh was taken to jail and is facing a charge of first-degree murder.
WPTV sent a video to Local 10 News of Singh making her first appearance in court on Friday morning.