Darnesha Berry: Mother Goes On Trial For Dumping Babies In College Trash Chute In 1998

The trial of Darnesha Berry, the mother accused of killing her newborn infants and throwing them down a college garbage chute almost two decades ago, begins on Monday. The Richmond Times Dispatch is reporting today that Darnesha Paulita Berry will stand trial for first-degree murder in the deaths of both babies.

Darnesha Berry, 37, was originally arrested in July 2013 after police reignited the cold case investigation into their deaths. Follow-up news coverage of the cold case produced several leads for police. Those leads led to Darnesha Berry, who was a student at the time, according to the Daily Mail.

The babies were found in February of 1998 at about 6:30 a.m by a housekeeper at Saint Paul’s College in Lawrenceville, Virginia. When police arrived at the location, they found two newborn babies — a boy and a girl — on the basement floor of the college. An investigation indicated that the babies had been discarded in the trash chute on the upper floors where the dorm bathrooms were located.

An autopsy concluded that both babies were full-term. In 1998, law enforcement investigators declined to release any information about the autopsy finding at the time. They also had no leads and no suspects in the case. They interviewed several students at the school but still had no clear suspects in mind.

When the babies were found on the basement floor of Saint Paul’s College, the rural town mourned deeply for the babies. Everyone was in disbelief that someone could do that to two precious babies. The residents of the community were so moved by the tragic case that they decided to raise money to give the infants a proper burial. The Richmond Times Dispatch reported that about 300 people attended the funeral.

While the case was cold, Darnesha Berry started her life anew. She got married, had several children, and worked a job at a local bank. But the DNA match was all police needed to connect her directly to those infants. They arrested Berry on the spot at her job at an area bank.

To many, her arrest and upcoming double murder trial is sweet justice for what she did to those babies all those years ago. Here’s what they say.

“wow after 15yrs…..it shows u can’t run and u can’t hide.”

“Wow wtf”

“Who does this? Only a person that’s insane……”

“Now she need to rot in prison for that..babies really wtf wrong with ur cold heart trick..then make another one an get married..wow”

“heartbreaking! give the babies up for adoption if you didnt want them!”

If convicted, Darnesha P. Berry could face life in prison.

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