Texas Mother Arrested in 1998 Cold Case of Infant Found Dead in Field

Texas Mother Arrested in 1998 Cold Case of Infant Found Dead in Field

LONGVIEW, Texas — After nearly three decades, a Texas cold case has come to a heartbreaking breakthrough. Authorities announced that 47-year-old Misty Mitchell has been arrested and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of her newborn baby in 1998.

On June 1998, officers with the Longview Police Department discovered the remains of an infant inside a trash bag near West Harrison and Jordan Valley roads. Investigators determined the baby had been born healthy but died from fatal injuries consistent with a beating. The death was ruled a homicide, but at the time, police were unable to identify the victim or her parents, and the case went cold.

For 27 years, the case haunted detectives and the Longview community, who sought answers about the baby’s identity and what had happened.

According to investigators, recent advancements in genetic profile technology allowed officials to revisit the evidence and successfully identify the child’s mother as Misty Mitchell. Detectives confirmed Mitchell as the prime suspect, leading to her arrest on September 9, 2025.

She has been booked into the Gregg County Jail, where she is being held on a $750,000 bond.

The shocking arrest has reignited emotions for many in the Longview community, who remember the 1998 case as one of the area’s most tragic unsolved crimes. Police say the investigation is ongoing, and prosecutors plan to pursue capital charges.