DNA Leads to Arrest 30 Years After Newborn Drowned in Theater Toilet

A Virginia mother has been arrested and indicted on murder charges more than 30 years after her newborn baby was allegedly drowned and left in the toilet of a Long Island movie theater.

Michelle Chronick Tyson, 59, faces two counts of second-degree murder in connection with the 1996 death of her infant son. The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office announced the indictment on Thursday, stating that DNA testing was crucial in linking Tyson to the cold case.

"As alleged, this defendant made a choice back in 1996 to take her newborn child’s life before he ever had the chance to experience the world beyond his first few breaths," said Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney in a statement. "The alleged circumstances of this infant’s death are deeply disturbing, and the fact that nearly three decades have passed does not diminish the gravity of this crime."

The baby was discovered by a cleaner on November 18, 1996, inside a toilet in the women's restroom of the now-shuttered Commack Multiplex theater. The infant, who died of asphyxia due to submersion in water, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Suffolk County Medical Examiner's Office, which ruled the death a homicide.

Investigators initially pursued leads, but the case went cold. However, a sample of the newborn's blood, preserved as evidence, was later submitted by the Cold Case Task Force to a private lab. This lab generated a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism DNA profile.

The task force, comprising members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the District Attorney’s office, utilized this genetic information to identify Tyson as the likely mother. A subsequent search warrant allowed investigators to obtain a buccal swab from Tyson, which confirmed her biological relationship to the infant.

Tyson was arrested on Wednesday in Hampton, Virginia, and subsequently extradited to Suffolk County. She was arraigned on Thursday and held without bail. If convicted of the top charge, she faces a sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

"Every child deserves the chance to live, to grow and to thrive," Tierney stated. "This infant was robbed of that chance, and we are committed to pursuing justice for a life that was tragically and selfishly cut short."