Dad charged with murder 10 years after newborn was found at Portland recycling center
09/26/2023 12:39 pm PDT
PORTLAND, Ore. (TCD) -- Police brought a cold case to a close after they arrested a 53-year-old man whose newborn daughter was found deceased at a recycling facility 10 years ago.
According to Portland Police, on May 28, 2013, officers were called to 4325 N. Commerce St. after workers at the facility located a deceased child. The Medical Examiner determined the child died by homicide, but her identity remained a mystery. She became known as "Baby Precious."
She was a full-term child and was born with her umbilical cord still attached. Police said in their initial press release that she was African American or biracial.
The case into Baby Precious' death went cold but was reopened in 2019 by the Portland Police Cold Case Unit. The detective in charge of the case, Brendan McGuire, sent DNA to a forensics laboratory, but it did not result in any leads. Two years later, McGuire learned about a potential family connection, though the likely relative submitted their DNA anonymously.
In 2023, detectives were able to identify Baby Precious' mother and father. They identified the infant as Amara.
On Sept. 18, a Multnomah County grand jury indicted Amara’s father, Alnath Omar Oliver, on two counts of second-degree manslaughter, two counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment, third-degree rape, and concealing the birth of an infant. Oliver was arrested Sept. 21. Jail records show his bail is set at $100,000.
According to The Oregonian/Oregon Live, the rape charges stem from Oliver having sex with Amara’s mother. She was 15 years old at the time, while Oliver was in his 40s. Oliver allegedly did not allow Amara’s mother to seek medical care during her pregnancy or give the newborn "adequate food, physical care, and medical attention" following the birth.
The mother reportedly gave birth at Oliver’s apartment and she purportedly believed Oliver walked the newborn to a hospital so she could be placed into state custody. The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports Oliver told officials Amara stopped breathing while en route to the hospital, so he left her in a recycling bin.
McGuire said the mother "was not aware that her child was deceased" and she had always believed Amara had been taken to the hospital.
The news "really sort of devastated this family," according to McGuire.
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