Watsonville mother pleads guilty in 1994 cold case death of her newborn son

By Tim Fang

The mother of a newborn baby who was found dead in Monterey County in 1994 has pleaded guilty to her son’s death, prosecutors said.

District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni’s office announced Thursday that 61-year-old Pamela Ferreyra of Watsonville pleaded guilty to one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of felony child abuse. Ferreyra also admitted an allegation that she caused great bodily injury to the baby.

According to prosecutors, the partial remains of a two-to-three-day old baby boy was found off Garin Road in Prunedale on Dec. 3, 1994. An autopsy determined that the child was born alive outside a hospital and had not been fed for about 24 hours prior to his death.

Prosecutors said no missing person’s report was filed. An investigation by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office resulted in no viable leads and the case went cold.

Following the creation of the DA’s office Cold Case Task Force in 2020, DNA samples from the baby’s remains were submitted for further testing. Prosecutors said DNA analysis identified Ferreyra as the child’s mother last year.

According to the DA’s office, Ferreyra told investigators that she hid her pregnancy from everyone around her, including her husband and children.

“She admitted Baby John Doe was born alive in her home. After he was born, Ferreyra said she dressed him, put him in her car, drove him to the remote Prunedale location, and left him there,” prosecutors said in a statement, adding that she never returned to where she left the baby or investigated what happened.

The DA’s office said Ferreyra’s plea represents the 10th conviction for a cold case homicide since the creation of the task force.

Ferreyra will be sentenced to 13 years and four months in state prison at a hearing on Feb. 18, 2026.