KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The identity of a baby’s body found in a wooded area of Kansas City is released.
Kansas City police say the baby’s name is Kha’liya Bridgewater. She was born in November, six months before investigators found her body near East 41st Street and Pittman Road in May.
The cause and manner of her death are still under investigation, according to police.
Detectives used DNA to identify Kha’liya’s parents.
According to court documents, family members said Kha’liya’s mother told them the baby died. Family members contacted police after the woman wouldn’t give them information about how Kha’liya died or when she would be buried.
A search warrant shows detectives compared DNA from the baby’s remains to the DNA of the child’s suspected mother. Tests show the woman is likely the baby’s mother.
It also shows the woman’s sibling and a friend went to her apartment on April 28. They said the apartment “smelled horrific” and there were trash bags left near the front door.
The woman allegedly told her sibling that the 6-month-old baby was not at the apartment.
Based on the investigation, Kansas City police questioned the woman. The court paperwork shows she told officers she had two children, a 4-year-old son and a 2-year-old daughter, but denied having a third child.
The court document also shows that the woman changed her story several times before saying her boyfriend strapped Kha’liya’s body into a car seat and disappeared. He told her he was going to Arkansas, but to tell people he took the baby to Texas.
No one is charged in the baby’s death yet, so FOX4 isn’t identifying anyone listed in the search warrants pending formal charges.