Summary
In June 2019, a homeowner and his daughters found a female infant near their home, by a wooded strip of land near Daves Creek Road in Cumming. The daughters had initially heard what they thought was a crying baby from the woods. Although skeptical at first, the father joined his daughters to investigate and discovered the baby in a plastic bag on top of a pile of leaves and sticks.
The family called 911 and the Forysth County Sheriff's Office investigators arrived at the scene. The newborn was estimated to be hours old and still had her umbilical cord attached. The investigators performed first aid on the infant and rushed her to the hospital for care. Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office investigators asked for the public’s help in finding the infant’s family. In the meantime, the community rallied around the infant girl, offering foster care, adoption, and donations.
As the infant recovered, investigators turned their focus towards finding her parents and the persons responsible for what happened. A lengthy investigation ensued, including efforts from the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office, GBI, and the Atlanta FBI. Othram supported the agencies with advanced DNA testing and analysis. At the press conference in May 2023, the Forsyth County Sheriff remarked that the investigation took thousands of hours over a period of four years. As a results of the investigation the infant's family was found and the infant's mother, Karima Jiwani, who is now 40 years old, has been charged with criminal attempt to murder, cruelty to children in the first degree, aggravated assault, and reckless abandonment.
At the press conference, the Forsyth County Sheriff commented on the arrest: "I've been doing this for 33 years, and I truly can't think of one that I wanted more."
Investigators have not yet disclosed the details of Jiwani's interview or the motives behind the incident since the case is still pending prosecution. However, as more details are publicly shared by law enforcement, we will provide updates on this page.
Michael Vogen
Director of Case Management
Michael works with law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada on “unsolvable“ cases that can benefit from advanced DNA testing methods. He helps these agencies use cutting edge DNA sequencing and new forensic techniques to develop investigative leads for their cases.