Watsonville mother sentenced 13 years for 1994 cold case death of newborn son
By Ricardo Tovar
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SALINAS, Calif. (KSBW) — A Watsonville mother has been sentenced for abandoning her newborn son more than 30 years ago, leading to his death along Garin Road in the Las Lomas area, according to Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni.
Pamela Ferreyra, 61, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of felony child abuse in connection with the 1994 death of her infant son.
She was sentenced to 13 years and four months in state prison.
“On December 3, 1994, the partial remains of a two-to-three-day-old baby boy were discovered off Garin Road in Prunedale. An autopsy confirmed that the child was born alive, outside of a hospital setting, and that he had not been fed for approximately 24 hours prior to his death,” Pacioni said.
The exact cause of the child’s death could not be determined.
The baby, known as Baby Garin, was found stuffed in a grocery bag by a man collecting aluminum cans, according to past KSBW 8 reporting.
Pacioni added that no missing person report was filed and, at the time, no leads were developed to identify the baby’s parents.
In 2024, DNA analysis identified Ferreyra as the child’s mother. She was arrested in October 2024.
When interviewed, Ferreyra said she hid her pregnancy from her husband and children and delivered the baby alive at home.
Ferreyra allegedly told investigators that she dressed him, put him in her car, drove to a remote location in Prunedale, and left him there. Pacioni said Ferreyra never went back to check on her son.
Both offenses are considered violent felonies and count as strikes under California law.
“Ferreyra’s guilty plea was the tenth conviction for a cold-case murder since the establishment of the Cold Case Task Force,” Pacioni said.
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