MANCHESTER, N.H. (TCN) — Following a lengthy investigation, a mother has been charged in connection with the death of her newborn child, whose body was found floating in a pond.
KCBD reports Hepay Juma, 26, was taken into custody on Feb. 26 and charged with reckless second-degree murder.
On March 27, 2025, a kayaker found the body of a newborn baby girl floating in Pine Island Pond. Police believe she was placed there between March 25 and March 27, 2025, according to KCBD.
The infant was dubbed Baby Grace, and a public funeral was held for her in May 2025. People reports Manchester Police Chief Peter Marr said, “The way she was discarded is heartbreaking, and it is important that we give her a proper farewell.”
Police have not released how they identified Juma as the child’s mother. Senior Assistant Attorney General Nicholas Chong Yen said, “Unfortunately, we can’t go into much detail about what that involved in terms of the identification, but what we can say is that Manchester was tireless in terms of tracking down every lead, following up on information provided by the public and making sure that they took the investigative steps necessary to be able to make the correct identification,” KCBD reports.
Ink Link reports the prosecutors requested that the court seal the affidavit.
Juma waived her arraignment and is currently being held in jail without bail, according to KCBD. Ink Link reports her probable cause hearing is scheduled for March 5.
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