Missouri authorities said on Thursday that they identified an infant girl who was found dead in the woods in May.
According to KPLR, Kansas City police said Kha’liya Bridgewater was born in November, six months before her body was discovered. Though her parents were identified through DNA testing, no arrests have been made.
Relatives claimed that Bridgewater’s mother said the baby had died, but they contacted authorities when she would not disclose details involving her death or burial. In late April, the mother’s sibling and her friend came to her home and reportedly recalled it smelling bad and spotted trash bags near the front door.
According to KPLR, Bridgewater’s mother told police that she only had two children, ages 2 and 4. She allegedly provided different stories about what happened to her infant daughter — including one in which the father strapped the deceased baby’s body into a car seat and said he was going to Arkansas, though he told her to tell others he had gone to Texas.
According to KCTV, another witness said Bridgewater’s mother had texted her and said the baby died in her sleep on May 4 — nine days before a passerby discovered her body in the woods.
Another witness reportedly claimed that Bridgewater also revealed the baby died of SIDS and not to tell anyone.
Bridgewater’s grandfather told The Kansas City Star that his ex-wife and daughter had contacted authorities about the infant. After the baby was discovered in May, Bridgewater’s mother allegedly stated that she needed to pick up her daughter’s ashes and death certificate.
However, investigators said the baby’s death was never reported.
Bridgewater’s cause and manner of death remain under investigation, which may explain why no charges have been filed at this point in time.
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[Featured image: Kha’liya Bridgewater/GoFundMe]
