IOWA CITY, Iowa (TCN) —Â Authorities recently arrested a 58-year-old woman on suspicion of killing her newborn baby, whose remains were found in a landfill nearly 33 years ago.
According to the Iowa City Police Department, the body of an unidentified infant was discovered on Dec. 21, 1992. Officers launched an investigation into the child’s death, but the case went cold.
Investigators renewed their efforts in October 2020 and resubmitted evidence for DNA testing. As a result, officials reportedly identified the victim’s mother, Cindy Sue Elder, formerly known as Cindy Sue Eckrich, as the primary suspect. Police believe “Elder’s actions led to the child’s death.”
In 2022, Elder was reportedly living in Missouri. She allegedly admitted to investigators that she gave birth to the infant while living in Iowa City. Elder reportedly explained that the infant was born alive, but she claimed she “did not know how the baby died.”
Per a criminal complaint reviewed by KCRG-TV, Elder told police she “did something” to quiet him. She also allegedly said she didn’t wish to be pregnant, and she never received prenatal care and would hit herself in the stomach to try to cause a miscarriage.
According to police, Elder said she put the child in a plastic sack and threw him away in a trash receptacle near her father’s home. The father of the baby allegedly didn’t know that Elder was pregnant or that she had given birth.
Police announced on Sept. 9 that Elder was arrested on one count of first-degree murder. She remains held in the Christian County Jail.
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