A teenage mother who left her newborn baby to die in a plastic bag on Christmas Eve 40 years ago has been found out four decades on.
Mary Catherine Snyder was just 17 when she left her unnamed daughter near a stream in a wooded area of Mendham Township in New Jersey back in 1984. She wrapped the tot up in a towel before placing her in a plastic bag with her umbilical cord still attached.
The infant's death was ruled as a homicide after a medical examiner determined the baby didn't die during birth. The girl was baptised by local priest Rev. Michael Drury of St. Joseph Church, who also worked as the town's police chaplain. He named her Mary and saw she was buried in the church's cemetery. Police pursued the case for four decades and "Father Mike", who is 80 years old, holds a Christmas Eve service for the child every year.
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The mum, who now has two sons, was living in South Carolina (Cath Snyder-Crumlich/Facebook)Investigators finally caught up to Snyder last year due to modern DNA-testing methods helped cops identify the young girl's father, who is now dead. Snyder was living the life of a married baseball mum with two sons of her own in a South Carolina suburb. Her married name was Crumlich.
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Last week, the now 57-year-old was sentenced to a year in jail after pleading guilty to manslaughter, the Morris County Prosecutors Office has confirmed. She was publically identified for the first time last week, the NY Post reports.
Speaking about a recent conversation he had with Crumlich, Rev. Drury said: “She was a young girl [at the time]. Very fearful, very afraid. I know I did wrong. I know it’s wrong and I asked God to forgive me. Well he has, and he has Baby Mary with him and so Baby Mary’s OK."
The Reverend explained Crumlich - formerly Snyder - wants to attend one of the services for her long-lost daughter when she's released. He added: “She’s a good mom and a good wife from what I understand. The mistake that was made will stay with her forever. And I think she’s dealing with it."
Morris County Prosecutor Robert 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. He said the case was solved through “new forensic DNA technology, combined with traditional, boots-on-the-ground police work.”
In April 2023, Morris County prosecutors filed a juvenile delinquency complaint and Crumlich was arrested in South Carolina. On Feb. 28, she pled guilty to manslaughter. The father of Baby Mary, who was 19 at the time, has never been publicly identified. He did not know about the baby, authorities said, and died in 2009.
Police noted that New Jersey’s Safe Haven Infant Protection Act — which allows families to give up an infant safely, legally, and anonymously — was not passed until 2000, and could have helped save Baby Mary. “I want young parents to know that there is help available,” Morris County Sheriff James Gannon said at the September press conference announcing an arrest.
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