34 years later: woman arrested in connection with baby's death at Kentucky landfill

More than three decades after an infant's body was discovered at a Richmond landfill, Kentucky State Police have made an arrest.

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More than three decades after an infant's body was discovered at a Richmond landfill, Kentucky State Police have made an arrest in the case that haunted investigators for years.

55-year-old Jennifer Cummins from Fairfax, Virginia, was taken into custody this week by the Fairfax County Police Fugitive Tracking and Apprehension Team. She's charged with murder in connection with the death of a newborn known only as Baby Jane Doe.

The case dates back to 1991, when a sanitation worker at the former Richmond Landfill in Madison County made the devastating discovery. According to Kentucky State Police Post 7 detectives, the investigation determined the infant had been born alive and healthy before being placed in a dumpster on the Eastern Kentucky University campus.

Despite investigative efforts at the time, the case eventually went cold with the baby's identity and the circumstances of her death remaining a mystery.

But in recent years, detectives took another look at the case- this time armed with advancements in forensic science and investigative technology that weren't available in the early 1990s. Working with DESI East, KSP Intelligence Branch, and the KSP Forensic Laboratory, investigators developed new leads that identified Cummins as a person of interest.

Detectives traveled to Virginia, where information obtained during the investigation was corroborated, according to the state police. In late 2025, the case was presented to a Madison County Grand Jury, which returned an indictment charging Cummins with murder.

Cummins is currently being held at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center as she awaits extradition back to Kentucky to face the charges.

The arrest marks a significant development in a case that has remained open for 34 years, offering a potential resolution in the death of an infant who never got the chance to be identified or known beyond the name investigators gave her.

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