Agency:NCOUC - Group 3
Case Type:Missing or Unidentified Person
Case Details:On February 13, 1995, at approximately 10:30 a.m., employees at the Southeastern Public Service Authority (SPSA) refuse-derived fuel plant (a trash-to-steam facility) located in Portsmouth, Virginia, discovered the body of a newborn infant girl on a conveyor belt while sorting trash and recyclables, including aluminum cans. Workers stopped the belt to prevent further processing and immediately notified authorities. The infant was a Black female, described as newborn with her umbilical cord still attached, measuring approximately 20 inches in length and weighing about 6 pounds, with black hair and blue eyes. An autopsy by the medical examiner confirmed she had been born alive and died roughly one hour before discovery. The manner of death was ruled homicide, though the precise cause has not been publicly detailed in available records. One of the workers who found her nicknamed her "Baby Angel Valentine" due to the discovery occurring the day before Valentine's Day. Trash at the facility came from multiple surrounding Hampton Roads cities, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach, complicating origin tracing. She was buried on March 23, 1995, in Chesapeake, Virginia. In late January 2025, the Portsmouth Police Department announced the reopening of this cold case (along with a similar 1996 infant homicide at the same facility, known as "Baby June"). As part of the effort, authorities exhumed the remains in collaboration with the Richmond Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, utilizing a grant-funded advanced DNA sequencing technology and forensic genetic genealogy to attempt identification of the victim and potential relatives, with the goal of resolving the homicide and providing justice.
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