February 4, 2009 12:02 AM
- Text
Tests To Show If Baby Is Missing Woman's
(CBS/AP)
DNA tests to determine whether a newborn baby found on a porch is the daughter of a missing pregnant woman likely won't be done until next week, authorities said Wednesday.
"We're obviously speeding things up, but it's not something that can be rushed," said Robert Budgake, director of the Canton-Stark County Crime Lab.
Jessie Davis, 26, due to deliver a girl July 3, hasn't been heard from since a phone call with her mother on June 13. The sheriff in the neighboring county where the baby was found, Thomas Maurer, said he does not believe there is a connection between the baby and Davis.
A couple discovered the newborn, her umbilical cord tied off with a rubber band, Monday night on the porch of their rural home near Wooster, about 45 miles from Davis' home near North Canton. The baby, who was less than 24 hours old, was in a wicker basket and dressed in a sleeper.
"We're using every caution we can" to identify the baby or eliminate the possibility that she is related to Davis, Maurer said.
Davis' family says her baby is biracial, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But the paper also says Sue Redman described the girl found on her porch as white. She and her husband believe it more likely the infant came from someone familiar with the wife's work as a school nurse and board member at a local free clinic.
They found the child when they returned from dinner Monday evening to their home south of Wooster.
"We both were in shock. It was a newborn, well, an infant, laying just as peacefully as can be in a basket," Don Redman told CBS affiliate WOIO.
The discovery of the baby may be a coincidence.
"It's very hard actually to tell if the baby is actually 24 hours or 48 hours or 72 hours, so I'm not quite sure I believe the exact number on that. If the baby is only 1 day old, I'm doubting it's hers," criminal profiler Pat Brown said on CBS News' The Early Show.
DNA was collected from the infant using a mouth swab, but Budgake declined to describe the samples from Davis that will be compared to the baby's genetic material. Results are expected Monday or Tuesday, he said.
"We're obviously speeding things up, but it's not something that can be rushed," said Robert Budgake, director of the Canton-Stark County Crime Lab.
Jessie Davis, 26, due to deliver a girl July 3, hasn't been heard from since a phone call with her mother on June 13. The sheriff in the neighboring county where the baby was found, Thomas Maurer, said he does not believe there is a connection between the baby and Davis.
A couple discovered the newborn, her umbilical cord tied off with a rubber band, Monday night on the porch of their rural home near Wooster, about 45 miles from Davis' home near North Canton. The baby, who was less than 24 hours old, was in a wicker basket and dressed in a sleeper.
"We're using every caution we can" to identify the baby or eliminate the possibility that she is related to Davis, Maurer said.
Davis' family says her baby is biracial, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
But the paper also says Sue Redman described the girl found on her porch as white. She and her husband believe it more likely the infant came from someone familiar with the wife's work as a school nurse and board member at a local free clinic.
They found the child when they returned from dinner Monday evening to their home south of Wooster.
"We both were in shock. It was a newborn, well, an infant, laying just as peacefully as can be in a basket," Don Redman told CBS affiliate WOIO.
The discovery of the baby may be a coincidence.
"It's very hard actually to tell if the baby is actually 24 hours or 48 hours or 72 hours, so I'm not quite sure I believe the exact number on that. If the baby is only 1 day old, I'm doubting it's hers," criminal profiler Pat Brown said on CBS News' The Early Show.
DNA was collected from the infant using a mouth swab, but Budgake declined to describe the samples from Davis that will be compared to the baby's genetic material. Results are expected Monday or Tuesday, he said.
- 1
- 2
- Next Page »
Latest Now in National
- US seeks to mine social media to predict future
- RI player wins $336 million Powerball jackpot
- How the revolution became digitized
- Celebs mourn Whitney Houston at Clive Davis event
- The nation's weather
- Whitney Houston fans pay emotional tribute
- Hudson to honor Houston at Grammys
- Man to face Alabama trial in wife's diving death
- Whitney Houston's final performance
- Remembering Whitney Houston 1963-2012
- Screenplay for Murder
- Extra: Jimmy Siokos on Mark Twitchell
- Extra: Chris Heward's bizarre experience
- Extra: Drive with a killer
- Whitney Houston dies at 48
- Evening News Online, 02.11.12
- Video: Whitney Houston's ups and downs
Latest CBS News Headlines
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News
- USAID contractor case renews debate on tactics
- Peru: Rebel leader found badly wounded
- W.H. official: Contraceptive rule stands
- Whitney Houston: Music was in her blood
on Facebook Most Discussed Stories
on CBS News






