Woman Arrested 36 Years After Frenchville Baby Death

A 58-year-old woman has been arrested in Massachusetts in connection with the death of her newborn daughter over 36 years ago in the northern Maine town of Frenchville.

Maine State Police Detectives traveled to Lowell, Mass. on Monday to arrest the mother of Baby Jane Doe, who was found dead on December 7, 1985. The infant was born and then abandoned in below zero temperatures at a gravel pit near U.S. Route 1 in Frenchville.

Investigators said a Siberian Husky found the newborn and carefully carried her about 700 feet to his owner’s home. State Police Detectives were able to track the dog’s path back to the spot where the baby’s body was found.

“This case was the culmination of decades of investigative work from dozens of now retired and current detectives who never gave up finding answers and justice for Baby Jane Doe,” Maine State Police said in a news release on Tuesday.

Police say that over the past two years or so, Detective Jay Pelletier of the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit has headed up this investigation, working alongside Detective Chad Lindsey of Major Crimes Unit North. Together, they “chased every lead and spent countless hours working and following new leads that helped identify Baby Jane Doe’s mother.”

As a result of advancements in technology, including DNA and genetic genealogy, State Police were able to identify 58-year-old Lee Ann Daigle, formerly Lee Ann Guerrette, as the baby’s mother.

In collaboration with the Attorney General’s Office, Daigle was indicted by an Aroostook County Grand Jury on one count of murder. She was arrested outside her home in Lowell, Mass. without incident, waived extradition, and was brought to Maine on Monday, State Police say.

Daigle made her first appearance via Zoom at the Aroostook County Court House on Tuesday.

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