DNA Solves Horrifying Cold Case Murder, Mom Arrested 16 Years Later

A woman living in Colorado has been arrested and charged with the murder of her newborn daughter—16 years after the baby was found dead in a California dumpster.

Angela Onduto, 46, was taken into custody in Denver on July 2, following formal murder charges filed by the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. The case stems from the 2009 discovery of a newborn baby girl’s body behind an apartment complex in Union City, California.

At the time, the infant—later named “Matea” by police—was found by a man searching through a dumpster for recyclables. Wrapped in bloody pantyhose, her umbilical cord still attached, Matea’s death shocked the community. With no immediate leads, the investigation eventually went cold.

But this year, on what would have been Matea’s 16th birthday, a breakthrough changed everything.

Using advanced DNA testing, investigators were able to link the child to her birth mother, Angela Onduto. She had been a person of interest early in the case but was never arrested—until now.

According to court documents, Onduto allegedly confessed to killing the baby shortly after giving birth at home in 2009. In a chilling statement to police, she reportedly said she had no intention of keeping the child, showed no remorse, and admitted to discarding her daughter’s body in the dumpster.

Police say Onduto denied any mental illness or drug use at the time.

Union City detectives worked with Denver authorities to arrest Onduto earlier this year, but she was released pending charges. Now officially charged with murder, she has been re-arrested and is awaiting extradition back to California.

Matea’s memory lives on in Union City, where police gave her a permanent gravesite in 2017 and hold a tribute in her honor every year.