Indiana coroner confirms body pulled from pond is missing 1-year-old Illinois girl
HAMMOND, Ind. - The Lake County coroner in Indiana has identified the body found in a retention pond Thursday morning as 1-year-old Jaclyn "Angel" Dobbs, who was missing after her mother was found murdered earlier this week in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling.
An autopsy for Dobbs is scheduled for Friday morning.
DOWNLOAD THE FOX 32 NEWS APP FOR BREAKING NEWS ALERTS
Construction workers in the area spotted the child's body in the water near I-80's Kennedy Avenue exit ramp. They called 911 and then went into the water to retrieve the girl, police said.
Sources tell FOX 32 the baby's diaper bag was found close by as well.
Body pulled from Indiana retention pond identified as missing Illinois toddler
The Lake County coroner in Indiana has identified the body found in a retention pond Thursday morning as 1-year-old Jaclyn "Angel" Dobbs, who was missing after her mother was found murdered earlier this week in the Chicago suburb of Wheeling.
"Terrible. I mean, who does stuff like that? If it is true about the Wheeling case then, it's a long way away from Wheeling," said Jeffrey Williams who lives nearby.
Dobbs was reported missing after her mother, 21-year-old Ja’nya Murphy, was found murdered in her Wheeling apartment just after 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Murphy's family requested a welfare check after she didn't show up for work at her retail job, and after they hadn't heard from her for nearly two days.
An autopsy conducted by the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office determined Murphy died as a result of asphyxiation due to strangulation. Her death was ruled a homicide.
Police have identified a person of interest — a man police say Murphy had been in a relationship with.
"We do know that the person we're speaking with right now is the last person seen alive with both her and Angel, and that would've been on Monday night. And there's some video that supports that," said Al Steffen of Wheeling police.