"Baby Moses": Unidentified Boy with Umbilical Cord Attached Smothered and Set on Fire. Mom Sentenced 27 Years Later | Crime Alert 4PM 04.22.25

A woman in New York is sentenced to 25 years in prison for smothering her newborn son and setting his body on fire in a city park nearly three decades ago. A Nevada veterinarian vanishes after a video surfaces of him kicking a horse, and two weeks later, his body is found in Lake Mead. Drew Nelson reports.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alart hourly update, breaking crime news Now.

Speaker 2 (00:03):
I'm Drew Nelson. A woman in New York is sentenced
to twenty five years in prison for smothering her newborn
son and setting his body on fire in a city
park nearly three decades ago. On Friday, Carrie Mazuka stood
in Albany County Court and admitted to killing her baby,
known for years only as Baby Moses. She pleaded guilty
to first degree manslaughter and tampering with evidence. I did

(00:25):
a horrible, unmositable time and I live with rem Morris
and Regrad.

Speaker 1 (00:31):
I am a great mom.

Speaker 2 (00:33):
I've lived a law byding flight, and I do deserve
a life the sentence, I just hope you use some
discussion and go with the lower end. A judge sentence
Mazuka to the maximum penalty allowed. She will also serve
five years of post release supervision after her quarter century sentence.
The case had gone cold for twenty seven years. On

(00:54):
September seventh of nineteen ninety seven, workers found the infants
burned remains wrapped in a cloth near the base of
the Moses statue in Albany's Washington Park. The child still
had his umbilical cord attached. A pathologist later said the
baby was born healthy and lived less than twelve hours.
Police named him Baby Moses. Detectives kept the case open,

(01:14):
and with the help of DNA and forensic genealogy, they
linked the child to Mazukah in twenty twenty four. She
was arrested in September after her plea hearing. Mazukah said
she gave birth in her bathroom and panicked. She said
she didn't know she was pregnant. She confessed to smothering
the baby with her hand, wrapping him in a blanket,
placing him in a bag, and leaving him under the statue.

(01:35):
She then set the cloth on fire to hide what
she had done. Police confirmed that they had located the
baby's father. He was not aware of the pregnancy and
was cleared of any wrongdoing. Judge Roger mcdonoughd called it
a quote tragedy beyond measure. He said, quote what possible
sentence could this court impose that would compensate for the
death sentence you gave the baby Moses or the life
sentence you gave to yourself. Prosecutors said Mazukah showed little remorse.

(02:00):
Assistant Da Jessica Blaine Lewis told the court quote she
had other options to killing her newborn child. The DA
praised the work of police, federal agents, and forensic experts
who helped solve the case. More crime and Justice news.
After this, a Nevada veterinarian vanishes after a video surfaces

(02:23):
of him kicking a horse, and two weeks later his
body is found in Lake Mead. On Friday, search crews
found the body of fifty six year old doctor Sean
Frayner near the Boulder Islands inside Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
The next day, the Clark County Coroner confirmed his identity
through dental records. His cause of death has not yet
been made public. Frayner was last heard from on the sixth,

(02:45):
his father reporting him missing that day. The next morning,
Frayner's truck was found at Heminway Harbor. His keys, wallet,
and cell phone were still inside. Just days before his disappearance,
video of Frayner surfaced online showing him kicking a horse
named Big Red in the face while trying to treat it.
He was also seen choking the animal with a rope.
The horse's owner, Shauna Gonzalez, said her daughter recorded the

(03:08):
scene after she saw how tightly the rope had been
wrapped around the colt's neck. The footage led to public outrage,
Frayner facing felony animal cruelty charges. In a Facebook post,
Frayner defended himself, saying he did not mean to kick
the horse, but was trying to help it Breathe quote,
but yes, I did kick him right in the chin,
and I very much do apologize and wish this never happened.

(03:29):
Frayner had run a horse only veterinary practice in Las
Vegas since nineteen ninety eight. His license had once been
placed on probation in twenty sixteen due to record keeping
issues and how he handled medications in his practice. He
had no criminal history before the abuse complaint. Police have
not said if they suspect suicide, accident, or foul play.

(03:49):
The case remains under investigation. Janie June Co was last
seen in April twenty ninth of nineteen ninety seven three pm.
That day, she had just finished a job interview in
pedal Uma, California, and made it back to her home
on Penrod Drive, but that was the last time anyone
saw her. She had three children, all of whom were
staying with a relative at the time. She failed to
pick them up. On May second, after no one had

(04:12):
heard from her, she was reported missing. Co had recently
lost a job at a retirement home, but was said
to be in good spirits and looking forward to the
new job. Just hours after she vanished, someone used her
ATM card at a bank in Petaluma. Surveillance footage showed
a heavy set woman driving a nineteen seventy eight nineteen
eighty two era Mustang, but the footage was too poor

(04:32):
to identify her or read the license plate. Police say
co sometimes lent her ATM card to friends. On May fifth,
Coe's blue nineteen eighty nine Ford Aerostar van was found
abandoned in a few year near Napa, about thirty five
miles from where she lived. Her family said she rarely
traveled that far and would not have gone to Napa
without a reason. Friends in the area said they had

(04:54):
not heard from her. In twenty twenty one, police announced
that they had found new DNA evidence while reviewing materials
from the original case. They didn't release details, but said
it led them to new witness interviews and tips, though
no updates have been made since then. Cole was thirty
eight five four one fifteen, hazel eyes, brown hair. She
was white. A reward of up to two thy five

(05:15):
hundred dollars is being offered for information that leads to
an arrest. Anyone with tips should call Petaluma Police at
seven oh seven seven seven eight forty four fifty six.
For the latest crime and justice news. Follow Crime Alerts
hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With his Crime Alerts,
I'm Drew Nelson.

Speaker 1 (05:38):
How could a beautiful, young first grade teacher be stabbed
twenty times, including in the back, allegedly die of suicide? Yes,
that was the medical examiner's official ruling after a closed
door meeting. He first named it a homicide. Why what
Happened to Ellen Greenberg? A huge American miscarriage of justice.

(06:04):
For an in depth look at the facts, see What
Happened to Ellen on Amazon. All proceeds to the National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children.