Greenville Sheriff: Mom charged with dumping daughter in '90, dumped son in '89

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COLUMBIA (AP) - A South Carolina mother already facing a murder charge for abandoning her baby daughter in 1990 is now charged with dumping the body of her infant son nearly a year earlier.

DNA tests determined the two babies had the same mother and father, leading to Thursday's arrest of Brook Graham, Greenville County Sheriff's Lt. Ryan Flood said.

In the latest case, Graham is charged with desecration of human remains and unlawful neglect of a child because the medical examiner in 1989 couldn't determine if the baby was born alive, Flood said Thursday in a statement.

Graham, 53, was charged with murder in the death of the baby girl given the name Julie Valentine after the infant was found dead inside a vacuum cleaner box in a vacant lot in Greenville in February 1990 by a man picking Valentine's Day flowers for his wife, authorities said.

Ten months earlier, girls playing in woods about 5 miles away found the body of a baby boy who appeared to be fully developed inside a trash bag in April 1989, investigators said.

Graham's lawyer did not answer an email seeking comment Friday.

Graham faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the new felony charges involving the baby boy. She faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder in the death of the baby girl.

A tip from The Greenville News led deputies to reopen the baby boy's case, Flood said.

The father of the two babies has not been charged.

The DNA in the infant girl case was compared to DNA samples in family genealogy sites and first led police to the father, Greenville Police Chief Ken Miller said.

The father then helped investigators find Graham, the chief said.

The father hasn't been charged in either case, but investigators for both police agencies say more charges are possible.

Graham has two adult children and investigators said they are reviewing how they were raised as a part of the case.