MENDHAM TOWNSHIP, NJ (Morris County) – The mother has been sentenced in the 1984 cold case homicide of “Baby Mary” in Mendham Township, according to Morris County Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll.
Mary Catherine Crumlich, 57, of Columbia, South Carolina has been adjudicated delinquent in connection with the December 1984 death of “Baby Mary.” On April 3, the Hon. Michael P. Wright, J.S.C. imposed a disposition of probation conditioned upon 364 days imprisonment at the Morris County Correctional Facility, Carroll said.
Crumlich entered a guilty plea on Feb. 28 to manslaughter, an offense which would be a second degree crime if committed by an adult, Carroll said.
Crumlich was a juvenile at the time of Baby Mary’s death and was charged on April 24, 2023 by way of a juvenile delinquency complaint, charging one count of Manslaughter, an offense which would be a second-degree crime if committed by an adult, Carroll said.
At the time of her arrest, law enforcement did not identify the defendant by name, in accordance with the New Jersey Code of Juvenile Justice, Carroll said.
The disposition stems from the “Baby Mary” cold case. On Christmas Eve 1984, at around 10:35 a.m., two boys reported an abandoned and deceased newborn baby girl in a remote wooded area off of Mt. Pleasant Road in Mendham Township, Carroll said.
Law enforcement officers located a baby girl’s body wrapped in a towel, inside a plastic bag. At the time of her discovery, the baby girl’s umbilical cord was still attached. The Medical Examiner determined the infant had been alive at the time of her birth and her death was ruled a homicide, Carroll said.
The baby girl, whose identity was unknown, was baptized by Rev. Michael Drury of St. Joseph Church, the Mendham Township Police Department chaplain. Father Drury named her “Mary” and is interred at St. Joseph’s Church in Mendham Township, Carroll said.
Over the last nearly four decades, investigators have vigorously pursued every lead to identify Baby Mary and learn more about the circumstances leading to her discovery in the woods. Using new technology, law enforcement networking in three states, and old-fashioned police work, investigators were recently able to identify Baby Mary’s biological father and mother, Carroll said.
The biological father passed away prior to being identified by investigators and there is no evidence the biological father was aware of the pregnancy, or Baby Mary’s birth or death, Carroll said.
“This disposition has been years in the making, across generations of law enforcement who have demonstrated a relentless commitment to justice for Baby Mary. This nearly 40-year-old case was solved through new forensic DNA technology, combined with traditional, boots-on-the-ground police work, carried out in multiple states. I recognize the exhaustive efforts that went into this investigation on the part of members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mendham Township Police Department. As I have said previously, justice may not take the form the public has envisioned, but we hope that with this disposition, the Mendham and Morris County community is given a sense of closure,” Carroll said. “I thank our law enforcement partners – Chief Ross Johnson and the Mendham Township Police Department, Morris County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division CSI and Crime Lab sections, NJSP Office of Forensic Sciences, NJSP Forensic Serology Unit, DNA Laboratory, and the Morris County Medical Examiner’s Office, and our interstate colleagues from the Richland County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department – Criminal Investigation Division and Deputy Chief Stan Smith, the Fifth Judicial Circuit (South Carolina) Solicitor’s Office, Cape Coral (Florida) Police Department, Fort Meyers (Florida) Police Department, and the FBI, without whom this arrest would not have been possible.”
“I am proud we can finally conclude this case appropriately and continue to bring closure for all those involved in its investigation over the decades, our community, and those who have been directly impacted by it. I’m proud we can ultimately bring justice to a baby girl, needlessly abandoned in the woods on a cold winter night. I cannot express my gratitude enough to all the Mendham Township Officers involved in this investigation over the years, including most recently Detective James Arnesen, Lieutenant Steven Bittman, and Sergeant Matthew Ambrosi. None of this would be possible were it not for the hard work and tenacity of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, as well as the Morris County Sheriff’s Office, for which I am incredibly grateful. I also want to thank all the other agencies who have assisted, including the Richland County Sheriff’s Office and the Myrtle Beach Police Department in South Carolina, Fort Meyers and Cape Coral Police Departments in Florida, and our federal and state partners. This case is a true testament of law enforcement collaboration across every level and state line,” Mendham Township Police Chief Ross Johnson said.
“I would like to recognize the work of the Morris County Cold Case Unit, as well as members of the Morris County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division (CSI) Section and Crime Lab Section, who contributed to the solution. These groups worked with the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and the Mendham Township Police Department to bring justice for Baby Mary and the community by closing this decades-old case,” Morris County Sheriff James Gannon said.
