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A 57-year-old South Dakota woman says she was “young and stupid” in 1981, when she allegedly abandoned her newborn son in a frigid cornfield, leaving him to die with tears frozen on his face. She has now been arrested for his alleged murder.
Police arrested Bentaas at her home in Sioux Falls, a short distance from where the newborn’s remains were found wrapped in a blood-stained blanket 38 years earlier, when Bentaas was 19 years old.
She is charged with first- and second-degree murder and first-degree manslaughter. She has not yet entered a plea of guilt or innocence. She is being held on a $250,000 cash bond.
During Friday’s press conference, authorities talked about the long pursuit of justice for the child in a case that has haunted the community for decades. “I couldn’t be more pleased with the results today,” said Chief Matt Burns, praising Det. Mike Webb, who took charge of the case in 2009.
With the arrest, Webb said, “I think his voice was heard.”
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The alleged crime surfaced on Feb. 28, 1981, when local residents uncovered a stained blanket in the field, with a newborn wrapped inside, said Webb.
These databases have been used in other cold cases, including the 2018 arrest of the Golden State Killer, who had eluded detection for years.
Investigators pieced together a family tree, which led them to Bentaas. A DNA sample obtained from Bentaas showed“extremely strong evidence”to support a biological relationship between Bentaas and the child, the Associated Press and Fox News report.
The child was found with the placenta still attached and with tears frozen on his face, the affidavit says, according to the AP.
It is unclear whether Bentaas has retained an attorney who can speak on her behalf.
source: people.com
