The infant's mom died by suicide about eight years after the tragedy, investigators said. She was 29.
The cold case mystery of a newborn baby found stabbed to death on campus at the University of Georgia 27 years ago left its permanent mark on the school, but a recent development may lead to some closure for those still haunted by the grisly killing.
With the help of advancements in DNA technology, authorities determined the baby’s mom was former student Katheryn Anne Grant, officials said.
Grant was in her second year of a pre-veterinary program at the University of Georgia at the time of the baby’s birth, according to information gathered by her obituary. She transferred to Newberry College shortly after the birth to complete her degree and worked as a veterinary technologist upon graduation.
Grant died by suicide in 2004, about eight years after the baby’s birth, authorities said, which her obituary confirmed. She was 29.
On Jan. 8, 1996, a University of Georgia police officer was dispatched to the basement floor ladies room at the Oglethorpe Hall dorms on campus after reports of “a human fetus in the restroom,” according to a field incident report obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Custodians had discovered blood leading from a toilet to a trashcan, where they ultimately found the baby and its placenta, according to Athens Banner-Herald.
“I was a patrol officer in Athens when this occurred in 1996,” University of Georgia Police Chief Daniel Silk said in a statement. “I am keenly aware of the attention the case generated over the years.”
Investigators ultimately determined the baby was male, weighed 8 pounds, and was likely born shortly before he was stabbed to death. They were unable to determine who the parents of the baby were at the time due to limited DNA technology.
However, investigators pressed on, and when the necessary advancements became available, they had samples that were collected at the time of the newborn's death tested.
Authorities said they were able to determine in September 2021 that the father of the baby was likely one of two people. Those two people were later discovered to be brothers and both former students at the University of Georgia at the time of the baby’s birth and in the months prior when the mother would have become pregnant, officials said.
A year later, investigators said they made contact with one of the two men, who confirmed he had been living on campus at the time and had a sexual relationship with a student in the spring of 1995. He did not remember her name, except that her last name was “Grant.”
Investigators then combed through college records and yearbooks, and found that a student by the name of Kathryn Grant. “The quarters in which her grades dropped would coincide with when she would have become pregnant and when the baby was born if she was the mother,” lead investigator Maj. Hammock said in a statement.
A cross reference of DNA provided by the man investigators made contact with and Grant’s sister was able to determine the man and Grant were, in fact, the biological parents of the newborn.
“Acknowledging "the heartbreaking nature of the tragedy that took place,” Silk said “I think it’s absolutely vital not to lose sight of that.”
