Baby's death ruled a homicide

This 1996 Gazette article was republished on Jan. 29, 2024, after recent developments.

The death of a baby girl whose body was found in a Cedar County barn was ruled a homicide by the state medical examiner.

Dr. Thomas Bennett said Tuesday that the baby lived a few minutes after birth and likely died of exposure.

"Because there were no signs of any foul play - or no injuries seen - the cause of death at this point is being treated as probable exposure," he said, "and because the death was due to this child's needs for protection and care not being met, we're ruling this as a homicide."

The baby's body, with the umbilical cord still attached, was found Nov. 10 in a barn off U.S. Highway 30 east of Lisbon. The body was inside a tied plastic shopping bag, which had been placed in a garbage bag.

Learning where the shopping bag came from has been a focal point of the investigation, which is being handled primarily by a team of one Cedar County sheriff's deputy and an agent from the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Cedar County Sheriff Keith Whitlatch said.

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Some people, including a handful from out of state, have turned in bags with similar lettering, Whitlatch said. He hopes these leads will allow investigators to highlight "target areas."

Whitlatch also is waiting for results from the state crime lab, which is attempting to locate and remove fingerprints from the bags. "I don't expect anything dramatic, but if we can get fingerprints, that obviously is a help."

For now, Whitlatch is figuring there is a "50-50 chance or better" that the person who deposited the baby, known as Baby Jane Lincoln, lives in Linn, Jones, Johnson or Cedar counties. Furthermore, he believes at least one person involved is of driving age.

"We're comfortable (thinking) that the person didn't walk in there," he said.

Whitlatch said more than 100 tips have been telephoned to his department.

Baby Jane Lincoln was buried Thursday in Tipton. Fund raising to cover funeral expenses has yielded a surplus exceeding $1,000.

Whitlatch said it has not been decided how to spend the money, although some of it may be used to spruce up the aging county cemetery where Lincoln is buried or to fund an educational program for the Young Parents Network.

"The public support has been really gratifying," Whitlatch said.

Bennett said the baby was Caucasian, weighed about 4 pounds at birth and was about 18 inches long.

She was not born in the barn where the body was discovered, he said.

Whitlatch said the Sheriff's Department still is seeking information at (319) 886-2121.