DNA from discarded soda bottle leads to woman’s arrest in newborn’s 1985 death

Senior Digital Editor/Producer, WCVB.com

5 Investigates Reporter

ATTLEBORO, Mass. —

An Attleboro, Massachusetts, woman was in court Tuesday in connection with the death of her newborn son more than four decades ago.

Dianne Curry Peck, 59, was indicted Monday and arraigned Tuesday.

“Few cases are more heartbreaking than one involving a newborn baby, allegedly abandoned and left to die in the woods by his mother, deprived of the care, love and protection every child deserves,” said FBI Boston Special Agent-In-Charge Ted Docks. “For 41 years, this child was known simply as Baby Boy Doe. He entered this world with limitless promise, but was denied the most basic right to live.”

Heartbreaking discovery

On Jan. 26, 1985, the body of a newborn was discovered near a rock wall in the woods off Fruit Street in Mansfield. A father and son who were hunting saw footprints in the snow. They discovered what they initially thought was a doll, but soon realized it was the body of a newborn baby boy lying naked in the snow.

An autopsy determined the 6-pound boy was alive when he was born and survived for a few hours.

Investigators also said a woman called police the night the baby was born to report a disturbance in the area. Police were unable to locate anything suspicious that night, and the caller was not identified.

“This was a very big case to the community of Mansfield, which is understandable. Any time anybody dies, it’s a loss. But when an infant dies, it has a particular effect on people,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said.

Months of police work and media coverage followed, all aimed at locating the child’s mother and finding out what happened.

Cold case reexamined

The Baby Boy Doe case went cold until 2022, when it was reexamined with the help of the FBI and State Police Crime Lab.

Video: FBI discusses indictment of woman in baby’s 1985 death

Docks said investigators used the baby’s DNA to develop a profile. Peck was identified as the baby’s biological mother in 2024 using DNA from a soda bottle in her trash, investigators said.

“We reconstructed family trees, examined historical records while our partners conducted traditional investigative work to corroborate every lead generated through science,” he said. “As this investigation progressed, our partners at Massachusetts State Police and Mansfield Police Department developed information leading to the identification of the baby’s father, who is now deceased.”

Video: DA discusses indictment of woman in baby’s 1985 death

“This (DNA) testing, along with the further investigation, which was significant, has led us to the defendant in this case. And the grand jury returned an indictment,” Quinn said.

Peck admitted she was a Mansfield High School senior in 1985 when she gave birth in her boyfriend’s car, investigators said. While she claimed she gave the baby to her boyfriend to put up for adoption, investigators said there is no evidence that is true.

‘Powerful message to victims’

Prosecutors said Peck hid her pregnancy from everyone — family, friends and her ex-boyfriend, who died in 2020.

She was arraigned Tuesday in Fall River Superior Court. She pleaded not guilty, posted $10,000 bail, and surrendered her passport.

“Let me be clear: Today is not a celebration. Nothing can restore the life that was lost. It’s about a newborn who never had a chance to grow up, whose life ended before it truly began,” Docks said. “While today’s announcement cannot erase what happened in those woods four decades ago, it sends a powerful message to victims, to families and to every investigator working an unsolved case. That hope is never misplaced. Justice may be delayed, but it is not beyond our reach.”

1985 Video: Newborn found dead in Mansfield, Mass.