In 1985, rabbit hunters came across what they thought was a doll lying in the snow in the woods of Mansfield, Massachusetts. Upon further investigation, it was revealed that it was a naked newborn with its umbilical cord still attached. Over four decades later, authorities have finally made an arrest. 

The investigation into the infant found in the snow went cold until 2022, when authorities identified a suspect. Dianne Curry Peck, 59, has been identified as the infant’s mother and has been indicted on charges in connection with her child’s death. 

Authorities Finally Make an Arrest

On Monday, June 29, 2026, Peck was indicted on murder and the following day arraigned in Fall Superior Court. FBI Boston said the infant became known as “Baby Boy Doe” and thanks to new DNA technology, they were able to identify Peck as the mother. 

“FBI Boston, utilizing investigative genetic genealogy, funded the development of a DNA profile from the infant’s remains that led to the identification of Peck as the baby’s mother, which the FBI and our partners later confirmed through DNA testing and traditional investigative work,” the agency’s statement said.

Peck pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and was released on bail, but was forced to hand over her passport.

Rabbit Hunters Grim Discovery

On January 26, 1985, a father and son were hunting rabbits in the woods of Mansfield when they stumbled upon a set of footprints in the snow. “They’re walking along, and I believe one of them saw what appeared to be a baby doll,” Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn said in 2022.

The pair quickly realized that what they had found was not a baby doll but, in fact, a newborn with snow all over its face and stomach. “It was naked laying on its back; the umbilical cord was still attached to the baby,” Kenneth Martin, a Massachusetts State Police trooper for the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office at the time of the discovery, said.

“There was a plastic bag off to one side with some blood and some clots appear to have been torn open, and the placenta, it appeared, had been moved by an animal up by the baby’s head,” Martin said.

According to the medical examiner, the baby was born alive but died shortly afterward. “The baby was found sunk into the snow, and it appeared that body heat from the baby melted the snow under the baby, turning it to ice,” prosecutor Jason Mohan said at Peck’s arraignment.

The Investigation

Investigators said the only evidence they found was a sneaker print, a blue fiber, and a brown strand of hair. The case went cold until April 2022 when it was reopened by the Bristol County District Attorney’s office.

“Using forensic genetic genealogy, the FBI was able to use DNA from the baby to establish a potential family tree of the baby’s relatives,” Mohan said. Peck was a 17-year-old senior at Mansfield High School at the time of the baby’s birth, and authorities identified her as a suspect. 

Suspect Identified

Investigators allegedly took a soda bottle from Peck’s house in 2024 and were able to match the DNA on that bottle to the infant. In 2025, authorities questioned Peck, who admitted to giving birth in 1985, but claims it was a girl.

“She stated that she learned that she was pregnant in the summer of 1984, pregnant with the baby of an ex-boyfriend,” Mohan said. 

“She admitted that she hid her pregnancy from all family, friends, and relatives. She admitted that the baby was born alive, stating that she had a pact with her ex-boyfriend and that she delivered the baby in her ex-boyfriend’s car.”

Peck’s ex-boyfriend was also a 17-year-old senior at the same school. “She stated that after she delivered the baby, she gave the baby to her now ex-boyfriend and that he said he would take it and give it to a family for adoption,” Mohan said. “She stated that she never spoke to the ex-boyfriend again.”

Case Reopened

Peck is set to return to court on August 31, 2026. Special Agent in Charge of FBI Boston, Ted Docks, said at Tuesday’s press conference, “Today is not a celebration. Nothing can restore the life that was lost. It’s about a newborn who never had a chance to grow up. Whose life ended before it truly began.”