Woman arrested in 1992 cold case death of baby found in Catawba River

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — Nearly 30 years after an infant girl’s stabbed body was found floating in the Catawba River, authorities announced the arrest Tuesday of the child’s mother and said she has been charged in the girl’s death.

Stacy Michelle Costner Rabon, 48, of Rock Hill, faces a charge of homicide by child abuse in connection with the girl’s death in August 1992.

Only hours old when she died, the child was found wrapped in a bedsheet inside a plastic grocery bag that was discovered by a swimmer on the Catawba River, officials said.

Authorities said the child had stab wounds but a coroner’s report determined that the death was the result of suffocation -- not drowning or the stabbings.

Detectives reexamined the case last October and submitted DNA from the bed sheet to the York County Forensic Biology Lab for testing. Results identified Rabon as a suspect and deputies were eventually able to obtain a warrant for her arrest, authorities said.

Rabon was arrested Tuesday and was being held at the York County Detention Center. The charge carries a prison sentence of 30 years to life in the event of a conviction.

York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said when questioned by detectives, Rabon didn’t deny that the child was hers.

“I am very thankful for the hard work of our detectives and DNA analysts. Their dedication and ability to work cooperatively has led to the closure of a case that has haunted our community for years,” York County Sheriff Kevin Tolson said at a news conference.

In 1992, the baby was named Angel Hope by members of the community who also paid for her burial at a cemetery in Rock Hill.

A DNA match between the baby and Rabon was made after Rabon was arrested on a drug distribution charge in 2019, Tolson said. DNA was collected from Rabon after her arrest, Tolson added.

Rabon’s DNA was sent to a national DNA database where it matched with evidence in the baby’s case from 1992, Tolson said. While the initial DNA match pointed authorities toward a suspect, Tolson said, more investigation was needed before Rabon could be charged.

“This child deserved our best,” Tolson said. “Maybe now she will be called Baby Angel Justice.”

Deputies have been unable to find the child’s father and aren’t certain if he’s alive. They don’t expect to make more arrests, but said the case is still being investigated.

(WATCH: Man arrested, charged in murder of 8-year-old boy in 1988 cold case)

Man arrested, charged in murder of 8-year-old boy in 1988 cold case (NCD)

©2021 Cox Media Group