By The
Associated Press
A pregnant woman who was found dead in 1992 in a northeast Indiana basement has been identified thanks to forensic genetic genealogy and DNA samples provided by her father, authorities said Thursday.
The woman was identified as Tabetha Ann Murlin of Fort Wayne, who
was about 26 weeks pregnant
at the time of her death, Allen County Coroner Dr. Jon Brandenberger said.
Tabitha Ann Murlin. Allen County Coroner's Office via WPTA
"This is Tabetha's day, and you have been waiting to have a day for her all this time," the coroner said at a news conference attended by some of Murlin's relatives, almost 32 years after her body was discovered.
Brandenberger testified that Murlin would have been 23 years old when
a construction worker found his
decomposed body wrapped in a blanket in May 1992, in the flooded basement of a house being renovated in Fort Wayne.
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Investigators estimate that the woman, then unidentified, had died between late 1991 and early 1992.
Authorities were unable to identify the body at the time, but renewed that effort in 2016 before it was exhumed in March 2017, to collect DNA samples for analysis.
A forensic genealogy company was then able to identify Murlin's father, his late mother and two aunts.
Murlin's identity was confirmed after his father submitted a sample of his DNA for analysis in January, according to authorities.
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The cause and manner of Murlin's death have not been determined and
the investigation into his death continues
, authorities explained Thursday.