Walton County cold case detectives re-examine newborn's death

WALTON COUNTY, Ga. - Detectives in Walton County are trying to find any new leads in a 2004 cold case involving a newborn child.

During the early morning hours of Sunday, April 18, 2004, deputies with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a suspicious object along Rockmore Road near Old Zion Cemetery Road just east of Loganville. Residents reported a red plastic bag located alongside the roadway. Deputies said they found the body of a newborn boy a few feet from a red biohazard bag, like the ones used in a hospital. Nearby, deputies found a second bag containing the child’s placenta.

The Georgia State Crime Lab determined the infant had gone full term to birth and was fully developed. An autopsy revealed the young child had been crushed by an automobile and the case was ruled a homicide.

Investigators were told by witnesses the bag had been on the side of the road for a few days, possibly since Friday morning.

“Numerous leads were identified and run to ground, including the canvassing of local middle and high schools relative to unwanted pregnancies,” the Walton County Sheriff’s Office posted on their Facebook page Monday. “After several months without success in determining the identity of the child or anyone who might have been involved, the case went ‘cold.’ A local Christian organization handled the funeral and burial arrangements for the child who was given the name Matthew Christian.”

The Walton County Sheriff’s Office Cold Case Unit has recently been reviewing the evidence and are hoping something will surface.

Anyone with information should contact Walton County Cold Case Investigator Michael Rising at 770-266-1558 and leave a message or email Michael.rising@co.walton.ga.us.