WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than four years after the body of a newborn baby was found floating in the Boynton Beach Inlet, the child's mother has been arrested in connection with the child's death, authorities announced Thursday.
An off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter found the body of the naked infant floating on the Atlantic Ocean side of the inlet on June 1, 2018.
The infant, whose identity had been unknown, was named "Baby June" by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
During a news conference Thursday afternoon at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, investigators announced the arrest of Arya Singh, who is the mother of the girl.
WATCH: Mother of 'Baby June' arrives at Palm Beach County jail
Capt. Steven Strivelli said detectives searched for every child born in Broward and Palm Beach counties during the timeframe that investigators believed "Baby June" had been born, but they "ended up with nothing."
However, once the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office cold case unit took over, investigators were able to identify the father of the child and interviewed him.
WATCH: Lead investigator explains how detectives came to arrest mother of 'Baby June'
"He knew nothing about the baby," Detective Brittany Christoffel said. "He knew that he had a girlfriend around that time (who) told him that she had been pregnant, but she had taken care of it."
Christoffel said the father believed she had an abortion.
Next, Christoffel said, investigators were able to collect a "covert DNA sample from her and confirm that she was the mother."
Through a series of investigative tactics, Christoffel said, detectives were able to search Singh's cellphone records and determined that she had been at the Boynton Beach Inlet on May 30, 2018, about 40 hours before the baby's body was discovered.
Christoffel said Singh also searched news stories about the baby's discovery in the days that followed.
"But she's never come forward in all this time," Christoffel said.
Christoffel said Singh was taken into custody Thursday after determining that she "was solely responsible for the baby ending up in the Boynton Beach Inlet."
Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg said Singh is being charged with first-degree murder.
WATCH: Detective says mother claimed she didn't know she was pregnant
Christoffel said the 29-year-old Boynton Beach resident confessed to the crime.
"According to the mother, she didn't know she was pregnant up until the time she gave birth, and she said that when the baby was born, she wasn't sure if the baby was alive or dead, and that was that," Christoffel said. "By the time the baby went into the inlet, she was already deceased."
WATCH: Detective says mother gave birth to 'Baby June' in hotel bathroom
Christoffel later elaborated to reporters that Singh gave birth in a hotel room bathroom.
"She didn't know that she was pregnant until she saw that the baby had come out," Christoffel explained. "She said the baby landed in the water and then she went and she passed out. She didn't pick up the baby or check on her at all. She ended up leaving, going to school and then going to the inlet later that night."
Singh had been working as a security guard at Lynn University in Boca Raton since July 2021, but a spokeswoman for the school said her employment has been terminated.
