What did Annie Anderson do? Charges explored as woman arrested 19 years after baby found dead in Pheonix airport bathroom

Annie Anderson, 51, was arrested for her alleged involvement in the death of a newborn, known as Baby Skylar, who was found suffocated and abandoned at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport in 2005. The arrest comes nearly 20 years after the case was first reported on October 10, 2005.

Phoenix police initiated an investigation in 2005 when the lifeless body of a 24-hour-old baby girl was discovered in a woman's restroom at Sky Harbor Airport wrapped in a plastic bag with the red Marriott hotel logo. Despite not being born in the restroom, evidence suggested intentional abandonment and the medical examiner ruled the newborn's death a homicide by suffocation, as per CBS.

The search for the baby's mother, Annie Anderson was handled by the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force. Despite extensive media coverage, the case went cold until recent DNA and genealogy evidence linked Anderson to the crime.

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Annie Anderson faces murder charges

Phoenix police arrested 51-year-old Annie Anderson in Washington state on murder charges related to the death of a newborn. The case, dating back to October 10, 2005, remained unsolved for over 18 years until recent evidence led to a breakthrough, as per ABC 15.

In 2017, investigators used a highly innovative forensic instrument called a Snapshot, which used the DNA of the baby to build up a complete image of the mother of the child. However, the case went cold until 2021, when DNA and genealogy led investigators to Anderson, as per NBC.

According to reports from People, officials stated on Monday that a woman named Annie Anderson who was being held in Washington, had admitted to the crime and provided details regarding the events leading up to the infant's abandonment at the airport. While the specifics of her statement have not been disclosed, Anderson's admission led to her being arrested on first-degree murder charges.

NBC reported that after officers interviewed her, they confirmed that she was the mother of the child.

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Baby Skylar was less than 24 hours old when she was discovered at the airport

Baby Skylar's lifeless body was discovered by a janitor in a bathroom trash can at Terminal Four of the Sky Harbor International Airport. According to WCAX, the child reportedly had her umbilical cord still connected and was assumed to have been in the restroom for up to 11 hours before being found. According to the autopsy report, she died from suffocation, and the case was classified as a homicide.

Skylar was less than 24 hours old when she was discovered. As per CBS 5, Troy Hillman, a retired homicide detective with the Phoenix Police Department, spoke about the case and said:

"She just literally was welcomed into the world only to be murdered. It was just horrific."

He continued:

"That just kind of burns at me to this day. This didn’t have to be this way, and somebody needed to explain why they did what they did."

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A Maricopa County Grand Jury has issued an arrest warrant for Annie Anderson, who remains in custody in Washington pending extradition to Phoenix. As per CBS News, she is expected to face multiple felony charges.