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Mom Who Abandoned Baby in Gravel Pit in 1985 Sentenced for Manslaughter

A dog found the newborn and carried it to its owner’s home.

A mother who abandoned her baby in a gravel pit in Maine nearly 40 years ago will serve six years in jail for manslaughter after her sentencing on Tuesday. Lee Ann Daigle was arrested earlier this month and initially charged with murder in connection with the death of “Baby Jane Doe,” whose remains were discovered by a dog in Frenchville in December 1985. An investigation was launched after the dog reportedly carried the baby to its owner’s home, with detectives retracing the animal’s tracks to a nearby gravel pit. That’s where the child was allegedly born and then left to die in freezing temperatures. The case was cracked thanks to advances in DNA technology that linked the newborn with Daigle last year. A judge sentenced Daigle to 16 years, but all but six of those years were suspended. She’ll also serve three years of probation.