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Rowan County Sheriff's Office uncovers new details in 1971 homicide involving newborn

Results of the testing suggest DNA is still present in the hair, which would allow further testing to be done to identify the victim

ROWAN COUNTY, N.C. — Investigators have uncovered new evidence in the 1971 killing of an infant in Rowan County, deputies said.

The Rowan County Sheriff's Office said hair evidence recovered from a forgotten case file of an unidentified murdered infant, named by the sheriff's office as "Baby Eva," discovered on March 20, 1971, recently underwent testing at a laboratory in California.

Results of the testing suggest DNA is still present in the hair, which would allow further testing to be done to identify the victim, according to the sheriff's office.

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Detectives uncovered "Baby Eva" was found along Dunns Mountain Road, just outside of the abandoned Granite Quarry. The dirt road that led to the quarry was used by some as a trash dumping site, which is where her body was located. 

Detectives have not been successful in finding anyone who remembers details about the case, though they were able to identify the person who located the body was Arthur Joe Trexler who passed away in 1984 at the age of 76.

Today, the property of the abandoned quarry is owned by Piedmont Diving and Rescue Association and the quarry location is used as a diving facility.

Dr. Elizabeth Mayrand, the medical examiner for Rowan County at the time, listed the cause of the infant's death as a stab wound to the head, according to deputies. Her remains were held at the medical examiner’s office for a year, and she was cremated on March 21, 1972 at Rowan Memorial Hospital, which deputies said was a common practice in the 1970s.

Detectives continue to wait on further results from DNA lab analysts before progressing with the case.

If anyone has any information to aid in the investigation, please contact Lt. Ryan Barkley at 704-216-8711.

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