DNA proves man is father of dead child

BATON ROUGE, -- Officials say DNA results prove a Louisiana man is the father of an infant found dead in a garbage truck in 2002 and he now wants to give a statement in the murder trial of the girl's mother.

Matthew Crane, a 30-year-old Baton Rouge man, told The Advocate that he didn't know his ex-girlfriend gave birth in December 2002 until she was arrested in January 2012.

The child was buried as Christine Noel Love, the name given by a private group called Threads of Love, which provided a funeral.

Crane wants to give his daughter the name Cecilia Noelle Crane, and make a victim impact statement in the criminal case of JoAnn King, the child's mother.

Police say King admitted throwing the infant into a trash bin, probably the day after she was born. Garbage truck workers discovered the baby Dec. 6, 2002, dangling from a ripped garbage bag in the back of the truck

King, 30, of Baton Rouge, is charged with second-degree murder and faces a Feb. 10 trial date. She is free on bond.

Her court-appointed attorney, Fred Kroenke, said Friday that King is "totally and completely remorseful and incredibly sad." He has said previously she wants to atone "more than anything else in the world."

District Attorney Hillar Moore III confirmed that the results proved Crane to be the child's biological father.

"I always felt in my heart that I was the father to the child ... but this long wait has been torturous," Crane said. "Finally, knowing the results, I can proceed with appropriate actions and, hopefully, find closure in the process."

Crane, who described this as a "very difficult time" for his family and said he hopes its privacy will be respected, conceded that his only recourse is to let the justice system run its course.

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DNA proves man is father of dead child