No Justice: Baby Andrew John Doe was alive when he was left in a cornfield ditch but slowly succumbed to exposure

[Sugar Cookie]

A South Dakota woman has been charged in the death of a baby found in a ditch 38 years ago after police said they used DNA and genealogy sites to determine she was the mother.

Police in Sioux Falls said 57-year-old Theresa Rose Bentaas was arrested Friday in connection to the death of the child who had been dubbed Baby Andrew John Doe, according to the The Sioux Falls Argus-Leader.

Police say the baby was alive when he was left in a cornfield ditch near Sioux Falls on February 27, 1981. The placenta was still attached to the infant and blood was found on women's underwear, a shirt and some Kleenex-like material next to him, read an affidavit.

'An autopsy revealed that the infant was born alive, and had been breathing, but slowly succumbed to exposure,' Sioux Falls Police Chief Matt Burns stated at the beginning of a news conference. 'Detectives followed up on the available leads, but there were not many and they soon dried up.'

The case was still baffling detectives in Sioux Falls as recently as just over a week ago on the anniversary of the day Andrew was found when they released previously withheld photos of the crime scene, according to KDLT.

Retired Detective Mike Webb, who began looking into the case 10 years ago, says authorities used DNA from the baby exhumed in 2009 and DNA obtained from Bentaas through a search warrant to break the case open.

'Over the last few months we worked with Parabon Labs with the baby's DNA,' Det. Webb said. 'Their genealogist becomes involved, and a few weeks ago we did a WebEx with them, and they were able to determine some family trees for us.'

The results eventually led to Theresa Bentaas and the suspected father, Dirk Bentaas, who was unaware of Baby Andrew's existence in 1981.

Direct DNA testing of the Bentaases came back positive on Monday, according to Webb.

Theresa allegedly told police she was 'young and stupid' when she concealed her pregnancy from friends and family back in 1981.

An affidavit reports that she admitted to giving birth in her apartment, and then driving to the place where she abandoned the baby.

South Dakota woman charged in the 1981 cold case death of her baby

Theresa Rose Bentaas, 57, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was charged in the death of Baby Andrew John Doe, a newborn found dead from exposure in a ditch back on February 27, 1981.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Eleven]

What a lonely, cold death. Not understanding what was happening, much less why. Selfish people shouldn't ever be able to bear children. If you just can't bear being a parent, take that infant some place safe, THEN turn your back.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A man named Lee Litz first made the gruesome discovery after spotting a red basket while test-driving a Jeep with his friend.

The memory of finding baby Andrew still haunted him over 30 years later.

“I sure would have adopted him rather than see him die like that,” Litz said.

Litz said he could see the infant’s tears frozen to his tiny cheeks.

Baby Andrew was alive when Bentaas left him in the ditch, according to officials. The baby then “slowly succumbed to exposure” and passed away. Bentaas reportedly admitted she saw news coverage about her baby, but told authorities she “was in denial that she was the one responsible for that.”

Man haunted by memory of abandoned baby

Sioux Falls man discovered baby Andrew John Doe in ditch 35 years ago

www.argusleader.com

Bentaas has since pleaded not guilty, and now, on the eve of her trial, she is fighting the charges against her. One of her main arguments is that police violated her constitutional protections against unreasonable searches when they used her trash to find her DNA and develop a genetic profile, without first asking a judge to sign a search warrant.

“People do not have a privacy interest in the things they throw in the trash, but they definitely have privacy interest in their DNA that is on those items,” Bentaas’ lawyer, Clint Sargent, said in an interview. “And there's nothing a free person can do to not deposit DNA on the stuff they deal with every day.“

The Minnehaha County prosecutor handling the case against Bentaas did not return a request for comment. Neither did a spokesman for the Sioux Falls Police Department.

Accused baby killer says police illegally lifted her DNA from her trash

Theresa Bentaas is fighting a murder charge by saying police should not have taken DNA from her garbage without a warrant.

www.yahoo.com

And babies have the right not to be discarded like garbage.

 

[Keepalowprofile]

Litz said he could see the infant’s tears frozen to his tiny cheeks.

This broke me.

Post automatically merged: Mar 15, 2020

I wouldnt treat any living creature like that. This cold bitch did it to her own flesh and the flesh of the guy she loved. Ugh. I hope she is locked up for the rest of her life.

 

[Sevens My Charm]

A June trial date is set for a South Dakota woman charged in the death of a newborn who was abandoned in a ditch in 1981.

Theresa Rose Bentaas was arraigned on murder and manslaughter charges Monday. Bentaas is being held on a $250,000 bond, and has pleaded not guilty.

The Argus Leader reports Bentaas spoke softly when she said she understood the charges against her. A trial date was set for June 10.

June trial set for South Dakota woman in 1981 death of baby | Fox News

A June trial date is set for a South Dakota woman charged in the death of a newborn who was abandoned in a ditch in 1981.

www.google.com

 

[Keepalowprofile]

The results eventually led to Theresa Bentaas and the suspected father, Dirk Bentaas, who was unaware of Baby Andrew's existence in 1981.

Direct DNA testing of the Bentaases came back positive on Monday, according to Webb.

She ended up marrying the bio dad. Its still her last name now. I wonder if they had more kids and if they did, what do they think of their dear sweet baby killing mother.

I wonder how the bio dad feels towards her, knowing she put their baby in a cold ditch to freeze to death.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Sioux Falls woman being prosecuted for a 40-year-old cold case involving the death of her newborn son changed her plea on Friday and was found guilty of manslaughter.

Theresa Bentaas, 60, of Sioux Falls, appeared at 9 a.m. Friday at the Minnehaha for a change of plea hearing. She entered an "Alford" plea on count three of first-degree manslaughter, which in South Dakota is treated as a "guilty" plea. Two murder charges were dropped.

According to the plea agreement, an Alford plea allows Bentaas to maintain her innocence while simultaneously authorizing the court to enter a guilty plea to manslaughter (first degree).

“Mrs. Bentaas, you stand convicted of manslaughter in the first degree,” Judge Bradley Zell said to her after the plea.

In her Alford plea, Bentaas agrees that based upon the State's evidence she may have been convicted by a jury of her peers at trial, according to the agreement.

What happened to Baby Andrew?​

On Feb. 28, 1981, a newborn baby was found in a ditch and wrapped in a blanket alongside what is now Sycamore Avenue near 26th Street. The bundle was spotted by a driver who called to report it.

By the time officers responded, it was too late and the baby was no longer alive.

An autopsy was conducted a few days later and the cause of death was determined to likely be exposure and failure to assist the baby in maintaining an airway, according to court documents.

After a few leads and attempts to contact the parents of the baby, the case went cold.

It would be nearly four decades before a new break in the case would come.

Theresa Bentaas changes plea in 'Baby Andrew' case, found guilty on manslaughter charge

A Sioux Falls woman being prosecuted for a 40-year-old cold case involving the death of her newborn son changed her plea to "guilty" on Friday.

www.argusleader.com

 

[cubby]

Being young and dumb with no emotional support is not an excuse for throwing a newborn in a ditch to freeze to death. I was all of the above and my son is now 42 years old, born in 1979. My mother threw me out and didn't allow me back until she met and fell in love with her first grandchild, (he still thinks he's precious) and it still wasn't a smooth road, but if I had made the decision to dump him in the first ditch I passed after giving birth, he wouldn't be here to be precious (the little shithead). I really don't know how she lived with herself for the last 40 yrs. I would have already gone insane or committed suicide from the guilt of what I had done.

 

[Babs]

Apparently she compartmentalized the experience in order to remain sane. She may also be a self-medicated basket case for all we know. Now everyone knows what she did, including her husband who was the father of the son he never knew about. Nor did the two grown boys she gave birth to while married to the same bio dad ever knew they had a big brother. Terrible situation all around.

 

[Satanica]

A South Dakota woman charged in the 40-year-old cold case involving the death of her infant son was convicted of manslaughter on Friday after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.

Theresa Bentaas, 60, of Sioux Falls, appeared at the Minnehaha Courthouse where she entered an “Alford” plea on one count of first-degree manslaughter, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported. Under South Dakota law, an Alford plea has the same effect as a guilty plea, but it allows Bentaas to maintain her innocence while voluntarily conceding that the state has sufficient evidence to convict her of the crime.

In exchange for pleading to her son’s death, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of first and second-degree murder against Bentaas, who had initially pleaded not guilty to all three charges.

According to the Argus Leader, in her plea agreement, Bentaas “agrees with being presented” facts that include her decisions to give birth in secret, to not seek the assistance of medical professional, and to leave the baby in a ditch in Sioux Falls.

The plea hearing also brought to light new information concerning how the child died. It was previously believed that Baby Andrew froze to death after being left outside, but Dr. Leon Kelly provided a statement saying that there was no evidence to support that finding, per the report.

“There is no anatomic or investigative evidence to support prolonged survival of the infant resulting in death from exposure or hypothermia,” Kelly said in the acknowledgment of facts document.
[...]
Bentaas is currently scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2 by Judge Bradley Zell. She faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

South Dakota Woman Convicted 40 Years After Infant Known as ‘Baby Andrew’ Was Found Dead in a Ditch and Wrapped in a Blanket

 

[Sevens My Charm]

"There is no anatomic or investigative evidence to support prolonged survival of the infant resulting in death from exposure or hypothermia,”...

Sooooo the baby passed from simply not getting medical at the time of birth!?

 

[Sugar Cookie]

A Sioux Falls woman who gave birth to a boy and dumped his body in a Sioux Falls ditch in 1981 likely won't serve more than 60 days in jail, Judge Bradley Zell said during her sentencing Thursday.

Theresa Bentaas, 60, was sentenced to 10 years in the women’s prison by Zell but with 9 years suspended and credit for time served for the 1981 death of her newborn son who would later be called Baby Andrew in a case that went unsolved for decades.

“You probably won’t serve more than 60 days or so,” Zell told Bentaas in the packed courtroom. Bentaas has already served 73 days in the county jail.

“This court has struggled with the nuances of the case since first being appointed to it,” Zell said as he began his 20-minute long explanation as to why he gave the sentence he did.

Bentaas, 60, faced a first-degree manslaughter charge. During the sentencing hearing, the state recommended Bentaas be sentenced to 40 years in prison with the possibility of parole after 10 years. Her lawyers recommended she be given time served.

Bentaas will report to the Minnehaha County Jail on Jan. 15, 2022 so she can be transported to the women’s prison to begin her sentence.

Defense attorney Raleigh Hansman said Andrew's death happened to Bentaas and not because of her.

Theresa Bentaas did not kill her child," Hansman said, "She lost her son."

Hansman argued that the scientific evidence pointed to Andrew's death being due to lack of proper medical care and not due to the "South Dakota winter."

"Andrew was born, possibly took one breath and then passed away," Hansman said.

Hansman described Bentaas' Alford plea as a compromise knowing that a jury might be biased by emotion and prior reporting and she would be found guilty. Hansman said Bentaas never admitted to killing her child.

The court recessed until noon before Zell sentenced Bentaas. The judge took 20 minutes to explain his decision and referenced it being the first time in 30 homicides that the question of whether or not the defendant committed the act of homicide came into play during sentencing. He said whether or not anybody agreed on his decision it was his job to sentence her.

"That's not my job to render decisions on what people want," Zell said.

Theresa Bentaas sentenced to 10 years in prison with 9 years suspended in relation to the Baby Andrew case

Theresa Bentaas will be sentenced at 9 a.m. Thursday on a first-degree manslaughter charge for the 1981 death of her newborn son that went unsolved for decades.

www.argusleader.com

Her family spoke on her behalf saying she was a good mother and person but neither of those kind of people would leave a newborn in the freezing cold to die alone, cold and afraid.

 

[Sugar Cookie]

The South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles was closely divided as it weighed the parole request from Theresa Bentaas, who entered an Alford plea to a first-degree manslaughter charge in October. The plea means she maintained her innocence but admitted that evidence could persuade a judge or jury of her guilt.

South Dakota Circuit Judge Bradley Zell sentenced Bentaas in December to 10 years in prison, but suspended nine years of her sentence and said she should serve only two months. She had been held in jail for 73 days before trial and was supposed to be released to community supervision in July.

The eight-member board was initially deadlocked Thursday on motions to grant and deny her parole. But on a second vote, it granted Bentaas’ request for release.

The board said Bentaas’ will be able to leave prison once the conditions of her parole are finalized, which could take several weeks.

Several board members pushed to keep her behind bars until July.

“We have a citizen of our state who never had a chance to have a life,” said board member Peter Lieberman of Bentaas' son, adding that her punishment amounted to a slap on the hand.

Zell said during sentencing that it was unclear whether the infant died from complications during birth or abandonment during a South Dakota winter. The baby's body was found in a ditch in 1981, and an autopsy found that the boy likely died from exposure and failure to assist in maintaining an airway during his birth.

“He was not moving. He was not breathing. He was not alive,” Bentaas said Thursday when asked by the parole board whether her son was alive when she left his body outside.

South Dakota woman gets parole in 1981 dead infant sentence