3 decades later, NY woman gets probation for killing newborn son whose body was in trash can

NY woman gets probation for newborn’s 1981 death

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A 50-year-old Syracuse, N.Y., woman will spend five years on probation for killing her newborn son and tossing his body in a park trash can nearly 30 years ago.

Patti Cooper pleaded guilty in April to a reduced charge of second-degree manslaughter for the infant’s February 1981 death.

The death had gone unsolved until 2006, when police linked Cooper to the baby through DNA testing on cigarette butts taken from her trash.

Prosecutors say Cooper, then 21, hid her pregnancy from her family and panicked when she gave birth to the baby boy. Investigators say the baby was born alive and died of head injuries

Prosecutors say they don’t think a jail sentence would serve any purpose at this point. Cooper said nothing at her sentencing Monday.