Court documents: Woman accused of killing her newborn told authorities 'It's my fault...I can't turn back time'
Denise Reischman Merker was arraigned on a grand jury indictment Monday. She's charged with murder in the second degree in the death of her baby girl.
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Denise Reischman Merker pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder at her arraignment on a grand jury indictment on Monday.
Merker is accused of killing her newborn daughter in 1993. The baby was discovered on Route 25 in Calverton in a green garbage bag.
Merker's arrest came after the Cold Case Task Force, made up of members of the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney's office, began reinvestigating the baby's death.
According to court documents, the baby's DNA profile was uploaded to two public databases, which led investigators to the baby's father and six potential matches for the mother. The father told authorities he'd been intimate with a "Denise" between 1992 and 1993.
According to records, investigators met Merker in a parking lot, where she denied giving birth to a child other than her two children, who are now adults. She would not give a voluntary DNA sample.
Investigators ultimately got a DNA sample from a discarded cigarette, records state.
According to court records, Merker admitted to investigators that the baby was crying and she "got scared." She said, "That's why I put the paper towel down the throat..." Merker said that she didn't know what to do and no one else was home at the time. "It's my fault...I can't turn back time...The baby was breathing and crying...That's why I put the paper towels in the baby's mouth."
Merker's attorney, Danielle Coysch, said, "I think it's really important that everyone keeps an open mind here, that there's a presumption of innocence."
Coysch said her client has the support of her family.
Merker is being held without bail.
According to court records, when Merker was being arrested, she said, "How much time am I spending in jail? ... I cannot believe this is happening to me... Oh my God, I'm never going home."
