A pregnant woman found dead in a northeast Indiana basement in 1992 has been identified through forensic genetic genealogy and DNA provided by her father, authorities announced Thursday.
The woman, identified as Taveta Ann Merlin of Fort Wayne, was approximately 26 weeks pregnant at the time of her death, Allen County Coroner Dr. E. John Brandenberger said.
“Today is Taveta’s day. You have all been waiting for her day,” the coroner said at a press conference attended by several of Merlin’s relatives, some 32 years after her body was discovered. mentioned in.
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Brandenberger said Merlin would have been 23 years old when construction workers discovered her decomposed body wrapped in a blanket in May 1992 in the flooded basement of a home being renovated in Fort Wayne. .
Investigators estimated that the woman identified at the time died sometime between late 1991 and early 1992.
A pregnant woman found dead in Indiana more than 30 years ago has been identified.
Authorities were unable to identify the remains at the time, but resumed efforts in 2016 before exhuming them in March 2017 and collecting DNA samples for analysis.
Officials said a nearly complete DNA profile was eventually extracted and uploaded first to a criminal database and then to a genealogy database in January. A forensic genealogy company was then able to identify Marlin’s father, late mother and two aunts.
Authorities said Marlin’s identity was confirmed in January when her father submitted a DNA sample for testing.
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The cause and manner of Merlin’s death have not yet been determined, and the investigation into her death continues, officials said Thursday.
