Mystery mum who dumped baby in airport bin back in 2005 finally identified

In 2005, a dead baby girl was found dumped in a bin at one of the busiest airports in the world. The person who did it has never been found – until now. WARNING: Distressing

Annie Anderson was arrested for the 2005 murder of her baby girl, Skylar. Picture: Supplied

Warning: Distressing

The mother of a baby girl found dead inside a busy airport bathroom has finally been identified after almost 20 years of mystery.

On October 10, 2005, the body of a newborn baby was found dumped inside a bathroom rubbish bin at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in the US state of Arizona.

The infant had been wrapped in a white towel before being stuffed into a plastic bag with red Mariott Hotel lettering on it and abandoned inside the bin.

Authorities at the time confirmed that the baby – who was named ‘Skylar’ by police – was just 24 hours old and had not been born at the airport.

A medical examiner later ruled the infant’s death a homicide by suffocation.

The news shocked the world when it broke, and for the last almost two decades, the identity of the person who dumped her had never been found — until now.

The infant was found dead inside a bathroom bin at Phoenix airport. Picture: Supplied

Washington state woman Annie Anderson, 51, has been identified as the mother of baby Skylar and who allegedly ended her life.

“This case started back in October 2005 when a newborn infant was located deceased inside a bathroom at Sky Harbor International Airport” Sargent Rob Scherer from the Phoenix Police public affairs department said at a press conference.

“At that time our unit did respond and began an extensive investigation into this death.

“Ultimately all leads were at that point exhausted, and it was passed on to our cold case homicide unit.”

Footage from 2005 showing baby Skylar being brought out of the bathroom. Picture: ABC15

“In about 2020, this case was identified to be worked collaboratively with the FBI Violent Crime Taskforce and the cold case department.

“This collaborative work directly resulted in the identification of the mother and suspect in this case.”

Police got a warrant to search Anderson’s home in Washington and she confirmed she was the mother of baby Skylar.

Police do not believe the father was involved in the crime.

Anderson faces first-degree murder charges and is currently waiting to be extradited from Washington to Arizona.

A press conference was held to reveal that police had arrested a woman. Picture: ABC15

In 2005, DNA evidence collected at the crime scene was identified as belonging to the mother of the infant, but after being put into the FBI’s Combined DNA Index System, otherwise known as CODIS, there was no match.

With no other leads, the case went cold.

But thanks to modern forensic testing on the baby’s remains several years ago, law enforcement were able to identify a potential new maternal match, which led them to Anderson.

She was visiting Phoenix in October 2005 for a “real estate boot camp,” Lt James Hester of the Phoenix Police Department explained.

Police have confirmed this is Annie Anderson. Picture: Supplied

It is alleged she gave birth to baby Skylar at another location before suffocating her and dumping her body in the bathroom bin.

She then left her daughter’s body at the airport as she boarded another flight out of Phoenix.

Baby Skylar was only discovered after a businessman told security that he was missing a laptop and maintenance workers helped him look for it.

It was during this search that the newborn was found inside a bathroom bin in terminal 4.

“They ended up pulling something heavy out of the bag, a black bag, and once they investigated what it was, they found a deceased newborn,” Cold case detective Troy Hillman told AZ Family.

“She had literally only just been welcomed into the world to be murdered. It was just horrific.”

Police created this composite image from the DNA they had on file. Picture: Supplied

The woman was 31 years old at the time of committing the crime. Picture: Supplied

Hillman believes there is a reason the man lost his laptop at the airport on that day nearly 20 years ago.

If he had not been searching for it, baby Skylar likely would have never been found, with her body going straight to landfill, never having seen justice.

“It was almost divine intervention,” he said.

Hillman said it is still emotional for him knowing that the baby girl could have had a chance at life if her mom had just dropped her off somewhere safe, like a fire station or hospital.

“That just kind of burns at me to this day,” he said.

A small funeral was held for the infant in December 2005. Picture: Supplied

“This didn’t have to be this way, and somebody needed to explain why they did what they did.”

Despite no family coming forward, locals held an emotional funeral for baby Skylar on December 5, 2005 at the Paradise Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Phoenix.

Her tiny coffin was adorned with a huge bouquet of flowers while dozens of community members attended to farewell the infant.

Her head stone reads just three simple words: “You Are Loved.”

Her grave reads just three simple words: 'You Are Loved'. Picture: Find A Grave

Annie Anderson is not the accused’s real name, with documents showing she legally changed it in 2019 from Leanne Sue Stenberg.

It has been reported that Anderson has children and grandchildren.

Police confirm she was also accused of burglarising a Washington art gallery back in 2022, however due to lack of evidence she was never able to be charged.

Anderson’s neighbours who she had lived next to for years were shocked to learn of her arrest.

“To hurt a little baby? That’s just not right,” one man told ABC15.

“It was pretty crazy to know I’ve had a murderer living two doors down from me.”

While police have said she confessed to the 2005 murder, it has not been revealed what truly happened that day and why she allegedly killed her own baby.

It is not known why she allegedly killed her baby back in 2005. Picture: Supplied

While a police mugshot has not yet been released while she awaits extradition, police have confirmed some recent selfies from social media are Annie Anderson.

The suspect was finally found with the help of genetic genealogy, as police had the baby’s and the mother’s DNA on file since the crime was committed.

As forensic technologies evolved over time, cold case detectives were able to link the DNA to someone in Anderson’s family tree, which ultimately led to her arrest.

“Cold case homicides are challenging. Time is not often kind to investigations as our leads dry up, leaving detectives with few options to move a case forward,” police said at a press conference.

Sky Harbor is one of the busiest airports in the world. Picture: iStock

“This community that we serve rightfully expects that all our victims are never forgotten.

“Advancements in DNA and other forensic technologies used by the Phoenix police department are getting better every year, which allows law enforcement to re-evaluate evidence and find new leads that were not there previously.”

Arizona passed the Safe Haven Law in 2001, which states that a person will not face criminal charges for leaving an unharmed newborn with a Safe Haven provider for up to 30 days after their birth.

This initiative has saved thousands of babies across the USA over the last few decades.