A DNA Technique is Finding Women Who Left Their Babies for Dead
Wayne Springer, then an investigator with the Medina County Sheriff's Department, was among the officers called to the scene. The infant was a newborn girl with the umbilical cord still attached.
Deputy Springer knocked on doors up and down the road, looking for witnesses. He collected cheek swabs from dozens of people, hoping to find a DNA match. He tracked down carnival workers who had been in town for the Medina County Fair. On the anniversary of the baby's death, he staked out the cemetery in case someone stopped by her grave.
Then, one day in 2023, his phone blew up. Former colleagues at the sheriff's department were calling to say that a 45-year-old woman, Maricela Frausto, had been identified as the baby's mother.
Ms. Frausto, a mother of two who owned a restaurant in nearby Hondo, Texas, with her family, had been identified using a relatively new technique known as forensic genetic genealogy. Using DNA data from thousands of volunteer donors, investigators can create family trees and use them to match DNA found at crime scenes.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Motor 1
an hour ago
- Motor 1
‘Extremely Unscientific Process:' Texas Woman's White Toyota 4Runner Gets Stolen. Then She Goes Looking for It
A Texas woman is chronicling the search for her stolen white Toyota 4Runner. And she's asking anyone with experience in recovering stolen vehicles for help. TikTok user Alyssa ( @alyssas_outfits_ ) was the victim of a car theft just over a week ago. She last saw her white Toyota 4Runner at the Hotel Indigo in Austin on the morning of July 22. After turning to Reddit for suggestions on where and how to recover stolen vehicles, she and two friends went on a day-long journey to track down her 4Runner . 'We formed a search committee to drive around all the spots that Reddit suggested we look,' she says in a post documenting their search. 'We were downtown, on the eastside, along Airport [Boulevard].' 'And, let me tell you, there are a lot of white 4Runners in Austin.' Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily. back Sign up For more information, read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use . As one of her friends drove, Alyssa clicked her keyfob at every white 4Runner they passed, but none of them were hers. 'An extremely unscientific process,' she admits. 'If anyone has any suggestions of where to look for a stolen car, my DMs are open.' 'Easy to Leave Cars There' In the comments section of the video, viewers did not hesitate to offer advice from personal experience with this type of situation. 'Apartment complexes, because it's easy to leave cars there,' suggested one person. Trending Now 'Can Anyone Explain?:' Man Pumps Gas at Shell Station. Then He Takes a Closer Look at Where His Fuel Is Coming From 'They Have About 70% Tread Life Left:' Man Buys Tires Off Facebook Marketplace. Then He Takes Them to Discount Tire 'It's probably across the border at this point,' said a second person. 'This exact same thing happened to my ex in 2013. We drove around Austin for two days, going to all the locations his iPad pinged off (it was in the truck). We ended up finding the truck in South Texas—just about to cross the border.' 'Vehicles nowadays have telematics,' said someone else, referring to GPS technology . 'Have the dealer and finance company activate yours.' Another person said, 'You need to check junkyards. They might strip your car and dump it at junkyards.' What Should You Do If Your Car Is Stolen? A Kiplinger article echoes some of the advice in the comments, including putting an AirTag in your vehicle and purchasing other anti-theft measures, such as steering wheel and pedal locks. The author also recommends making sure any big-ticket personal items you leave in your vehicle are covered under your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy. If your car is stolen, obviously, you want to call the police, your local DMV, your insurance company, and your lender to let them all know about the theft. If your wallet was in the car, you're in for another series of phone calls to cancel everything. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles also notes that reporting the theft immediately is key because it protects you from liability if the vehicle is involved in an accident that harms other people after being stolen. A lot of people in the comments voiced frustration with the police's response to vehicle thefts. The Kiplinger article says that it's common for police to do the bare minimum with regard to recovering stolen vehicles. However, you have a better chance of success if you cooperate with officers and check back in regularly for updates. Motor1 reached out to Alyssa via TikTok comment and direct message for comment. We'll be sure to update this if she responds. More From Motor1 2025 Toyota 4Runner TRD Off-Road: The Good and the Bad The Kia Tasman Pickup Might Spawn a Toyota 4Runner SUV Rival Toyota's New Blue Paint Is Awesome, But It's Only for a Few Models Boxy Is Back: Why SUVs Are More Square Than Ever Share this Story Facebook X LinkedIn Flipboard Reddit WhatsApp E-Mail Got a tip for us? Email: tips@ Join the conversation ( )
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
‘Not a Damned Penny.' Texas Flood Survivors Look for Help
As soon as the raging waters receded on July 4 in Central Texas, Mike Richards led a group of volunteers to his property along the Guadalupe River to search for survivors. Instead, they found corpses, 10 of them, including a man that appeared to have bled to death as he waited for help. Mr. Richards, 67, has been waiting for help ever since, from federal, state or local officials who could aid in the search, pitch in money for those who need it or help clear land that, he said, 'still looks like a bomb went off.' 'Not a damned penny came through this gate from my taxpaying dollars,' he said on Tuesday as he looked at the twisted trees and piles of debris that still litter his property and beyond. 'And I don't understand why.' Mr. Richards is one of many residents planning to confront members of a Texas legislative committee on Thursday at a flood hearing in Kerr County, which suffered the brunt of the 136 known deaths in the Texas Hill Country. Kerr County's 100 dead included at least 27 counselors and campers from devastated Camp Mystic, most of them from two cabins near the river. From the early days of the tragedy, officials in Kerr County have faced questions about the weak local government response and lack of alarms systems along the river. They have been at a loss to explain why they failed to secure grant funding for a flood warning system in recent years. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Noah Is Still Here
Dr. Jacqueline Vidosh returned home from her clinic one afternoon late last year and hustled into the bedroom of her youngest child, Noah. She began troubleshooting with his home health care nurse, trying to figure out why his oxygen levels were lower than normal. Had Noah caught the cold going around their house in San Antonio? Jacqueline, an obstetrician, peered at Noah's vital signs on a monitor as she absently petted the family's Doberman. Noah, who was 4, was asleep on his side, facing a wall, his dark hair visible above the covers. He was surrounded by stuffed animals, and gauze pads and a box of purple medical gloves sat at the foot of his large, criblike bed. Wires and blue tubing emerged to connect Noah to medical machines. Jacqueline emptied a cup of saline solution into the chamber of a nebulizer and attached it to the ventilator that Noah uses to breathe. As he began inhaling the moist, vaporized air, Jacqueline wrapped a vest around him and flipped a switch that caused it to inflate and deflate rapidly, beating against Noah's chest to loosen any mucus that might be blocking his airways. Jacqueline used a syringe to check for residual formula in Noah's stomach through his gastrostomy, a surgical opening in his abdomen. She then used a machine to induce coughing and employed a suction device to clear out respiratory secretions through Noah's tracheostomy, a surgical opening in his neck. The process took about 20 minutes. Noah's oxygen levels improved. Jacqueline held her son on her lap and then carried him to the living room, placing him upright onto a frame that supports his standing and helps prepare him for learning to walk. For now, Noah uses a wheelchair. He smiled as he played with a plastic caterpillar, seemingly oblivious to Jacqueline's worries. That evening, Noah's two older siblings raced in through the front door with their grandmother, who had taken them for haircuts. Jacqueline, who is divorced and shares custody of the children with her ex-husband, wolfed down some pizza with her kids and turned on a movie. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
