An arrest has been made in an 18-year-old cold case involving the death of a newborn baby girl found abandoned at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
According to the Phoenix Police Department, on October 10, 2005, homicide detectives began an investigation into a newborn baby found deceased and wrapped in a hotel bag in a woman’s restroom garbage at Sky Harbor Airport. The baby victim in this case became known affectionately as Baby Skylar. The investigation went cold after all leads were exhausted. This case was ultimately identified as a case to be worked by the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force, which includes detectives from the Phoenix Police Homicide Unit.
In November of 2021, the FBI and Phoenix Police cold case detectives reviewed existing evidence and utilized Investigative Genetic Genealogy (IGG) to help identify a potential maternal match for the newborn victim. Investigators cross-referenced the potential match with evidence originally collected at the scene and identified the probable mother of Baby Skylar.
In January of 2022, investigators traveled to Washington state to execute a search warrant and interview the suspect identified as 51-year-old Annie Anderson. During the interview, investigators confirmed Anderson was the mother of Baby Skylar.
After a long and extensive investigation that involved numerous members of the Phoenix Police Department and the FBI Phoenix Violent Crime Task Force, a Maricopa County Grand Jury issued an arrest warrant for Anderson for the 1st Degree murder of Baby Skylar.
Anderson is currently being held by Washington state law enforcement officials and is awaiting extradition to Phoenix to face multiple felony charges.