NC woman admits to killing her baby nearly 40 years ago in Riverside
City News Service
RIVERSIDE, Calif. (KESQ) – A woman who caused the death of her newborn child and dumped her in a trash receptacle behind a Riverside business almost four decades ago pleaded guilty today to voluntary manslaughter and was immediately sentenced to four years’ felony probation.
Melissa Jean Allen Avila, 56, of Shelby, North Carolina, admitted the count under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. Avila had originally been charged with first-degree murder, but that was reduced to manslaughter under the plea bargain.
During a hearing at the Riverside Hall of Justice Thursday, Superior Court Judge Gary Polk certified the terms of the agreement and imposed the term of probation, which expires in November 2029.
The defendant, who has remained free on her own recognizance, was arrested in August 2024 following a years-long investigation by the Riverside Police Department Homicide Cold Case Unit.
According to police spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback, detectives reopened the baby death case in 2020.
The newborn girl, known only as “Jane Doe,” was discovered on Oct. 13, 1987, by a man looking for bottles and cans in a trash bin behind a business in the 5400 block of La Sierra Avenue.
Investigators at the time had little to go on, pursuing all available leads without success in the weeks following discovery of the dead child, Railsback said.
DNA samples were taken from the tot’s remains and preserved.
Railsback said the forensic evidence was used to locate and positively identify Avila as the mother of the infant, though he did not elaborate on the details.
“An essential partner in this investigation was Season of Justice, a nonprofit dedicated to providing financial assistance for investigative agencies and families to help solve cold cases through grant funding for advanced DNA analysis solutions and forensic genealogy,” the police spokesman said. “This funding allowed for DNA analysis to be conducted by Othram, Inc., a private lab that specializes in DNA technology.”
He noted that investigators “have no reason to believe the baby’s father had any criminal culpability in the murder.”
The man wasn’t identified. Avila was 19 when the killing occurred.
A possible motive was not disclosed, nor was the specific manner of death.
The defendant was taken into custody without incident by U.S. Marshals in North Carolina on the morning of Aug. 5, 2024.
She had no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.