DuPage investigators release new info in 'Baby Hope' investigation

WHEATON, Ill. -- (WGN) -- DuPage County Sheriff's investigators are hoping new DNA information may help locate the parents of "Baby Hope," the still-unidentified infant whose body was found last August in a wooded area near Wheaton.

With the help of advanced DNA forensic analysis the investigators have been able to come up with composite sketches that they hope will lead to a break in this puzzling case.

The investigators say based on DNA, both the mother and father of "Baby Hope" are of Latino ancestry.

They told reporters at a news conference today that the specially developed phenotype composites from a crime lab in Virginia come from a process of predicting physical appearance based on ancestry from unidentified DNA evidence.

Detectives also say, based on Baby Hope's DNA, that they believe the mother was taking a medication called Lamotrigine, also called Lamictal. It is commonly used for treatment of epilepsy, seizures, bipolar disorder or sleeping disorders.

Baby Hope was discovered in an unincorporated area three months ago. The female newborn was buried on September 22 at St. Michael's Cemetery in Wheaton.

A backpack was among the many items found at the scene where the infant's body was discovered. Police hope that somebody who knows the parents will recognize the backpack, along with a bathroom mat and toilet seat cover also found at the scene in August.

Investigators say this remains a death investigation. The coroner has ruled the cause of death is undetermined at this time.