A California woman is facing almost 14 years in prison for the death of her newborn son. Pamela Ferreyra put her newborn in a garbage bag before taking him to a remote area and dumping the body back in 1994. She claimed she kept the pregnancy and delivery a secret but has not given any insight into what led her to make such a decision. Ferreyra might have gotten away with her crime if her county hadn’t started a task force in 2022 to look into decades-old cold cases. As a result of the advancement of DNA testing, investigators were able to track her down and hold her accountable for what she had done.
On February 18, 2026, 61-year-old Ferreyra was sentenced to 13 years and four months in state prison, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced in a news release. She was charged with one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of felony child abuse in the death of her son, who is referred to as John Doe.
“Ferreyra admitted an allegation that she caused great bodily injury to baby John Doe during the crime,” the release reads. “Both of these offenses are serious and violent felonies and considered strikes under California’s Three Strikes Law.”
The partial remains of a two- to three-day-old baby were found on Garin Road in Prundale, California, on December 3, 1994. An autopsy confirmed the baby had been born alive but not at a hospital, the release shared. He also hadn’t been fed for about 24 hours before his death. The newborn’s cause of death could not be determined at the time.
No missing person’s report was filed, and an investigation by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office didn’t turn up any viable leads on the baby’s parents.
According to a 2024 report from KSBW, the baby was found stuffed into a garbage bag by a man collecting cans.
“He opened up that paper bag and discovered something that nobody ever wants to find,” Monterey County Sheriff’s deputy spokesperson Andy Rosas told the outlet. “When the person looked inside, they discovered the deceased baby boy’s body.”
The case went unsolved for 30 years, until DNA testing technology advanced. “Monterey County District Attorney’s Office Cold Case Task Force detectives were then able to conduct follow-up interviews and obtain DNA samples, which ultimately led to the identification of Baby Garin’s mother,” Rosas told KSBW.
Pamela Ferreyra was arrested on October 17, 2024, without incident. When she was interviewed by investigators, she told them she’d hidden her pregnancy from everyone, including her husband and her children, the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office shared in a news release. She did admit the baby was born alive in her home.
After his birth, the mother dressed the newborn, put him in her car, drove him to the remote Prundale area, and left him there. She never returned to the location or investigated what happened to her baby boy.
