Pamela Ferreyra, a 61-year-old from Watsonville, California, was sentenced on February 18, 2026, to 13 years and four months in state prison for voluntary manslaughter and felony child abuse causing great bodily injury to her newborn son in December 1994. Known as “Baby Garin,” the infant’s partial remains were found abandoned off Garin Road in Prunedale by a can collector; an autopsy confirmed he was born alive outside a hospital but hadn’t been fed for about 24 hours before death.
Case Background
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office investigated but hit a dead end with no missing persons report or leads, shelving it as a cold case. In 2020, the DA’s Cold Case Task Force formed, retesting DNA in 2024 that identified Ferreyra as the mother—this marked their 10th such homicide conviction.
Confession and Plea
Ferreyra hid her pregnancy from her husband and other children, gave birth at home, dressed the live baby, drove him to the remote spot in a grocery bag, and left him without returning or checking his fate. She pleaded guilty in December 2025 as part of a deal avoiding a murder charge; the cause of death remained undetermined but tied to abandonment and injury.
Sentencing Context
A Monterey County judge imposed the term after her admission, highlighting decades of investigative persistence via advanced forensics. Prosecutors noted no further details on her mindset over the 30+ years.
