DNA Helps Solve 1992 Arkansas Newborn Homicide

A 1992 Pine Bluff homicide that had gone unsolved for more than three decades has led to an arrest after Arkansas State Police cold-case investigators received a DNA match.

The Arkansas State Police Cold Case Unit, working with the Pine Bluff Police Department, arrested 52-year-old Stephanie Amos of Jacksonville on Monday, September 14. She is now charged with one count of Capital Murder and is being held without bond at the Jefferson County Detention Center.

The case dates back to June 22, 1992, when the body of a newborn baby boy was discovered in a ditch in the 1000 block of South Mulberry Street in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

An autopsy conducted by the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory determined the infant died from craniocerebral trauma, and his death was ruled a homicide. Despite the investigation by Pine Bluff police, the case eventually went cold.

DNA Brings New Life to Cold Case

In October 2025, Pine Bluff police asked the ASP Cold Case Unit to take another look at the decades-old case.

Later that month, investigators received word from the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory that DNA collected from the infant had been analyzed and entered into the national Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS.

A Match Is Found

The DNA profile produced a match to Amos, a former Pine Bluff resident whose DNA was already in the system because of previous felony arrests and convictions.

ASP agents and Pine Bluff investigators continued working to establish the circumstances surrounding the baby's death. Their completed case file was submitted to the 11th West Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney's Office in June 2026.

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On July 29, prosecutors notified investigators that Amos would be charged with Capital Murder, and an arrest warrant was issued.

Amos was arrested without incident on Monday, September 14, 2026.

As with any criminal charge, Amos must be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Arkansas State Police

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