YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A woman accused of murdering her infant daughter is standing trial 30 years after that baby’s body was found floating in the Catawba River.
York County detectives say DNA evidence helped them develop Stacy Michelle Rabon as a suspect.
Channel 9′s Tina Terry was in the courtroom Tuesday as attorneys made their opening arguments. She also heard testimony, some of which came from law enforcement officers who investigated the crime decades ago. Some never thought they’d see this day.
It was in August 1992 when the baby girl’s body was found inside a plastic bag, floating down the Catawba River in Fort Mill.
John Pierce took the stand Tuesday. He described the day 30 years ago, when he was 18 years old, that he discovered the baby while fishing.
“I started unraveling the sheets and the stuff that was around it, and when I did, to my surprise, the baby was there,” he said.
Prosecutors said the baby had been stabbed. The coroner couldn’t determine if she died from those injuries or from suffocation.
The case grew cold until just a few years ago, when York County got its own DNA crime lab. They say a lead developed in 2019 that pointed to Stacy Michelle Rabon.
“She did admit that she had a baby Aug. 12, 1992 and that baby was born alive,” said solicitor Leslie Robinson.
They said Rabon told investigators she gave the child to a couple from Tega Cay, but investigators couldn’t confirm the story. Now, she’s fighting charges of murder and homicide by child abuse.
“A newborn baby has no choice but to count on its mother,” Robinson said.
Rabon’s attorney reminded the jury it is up to prosecutors to prove that her client is guilty, and she claimed none of the evidence will support that.
“Ms. Rabon, who I have come to know as Michelle, is not guilty,” she said.
>> Channel 9 is monitoring the trial and will let you know what happens.
(WATCH BELOW: CMPD identifies remains of 3 men in cold cases dating back to 1988)
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