Diane Odell

Serial Killer

Diane O'Dell and the Babies in Boxes Murders

Overview

Diane O'Dell, whose first name also appears as Dianne in court records, is an American woman convicted of murdering three of her newborn children in Sullivan County, New York. The killings occurred in 1982, 1983 and 1985, although publicly available court and news records do not establish exact calendar dates for the infants' births and deaths. Because the victims were killed shortly after being born and were never publicly identified by name, they are generally described in official accounts only as O'Dell's newborn children. The case became widely known as the "Babies in Boxes" case because O'Dell concealed the infants' remains inside containers and transported them through a series of moves. For approximately two decades, the deaths remained hidden from police. The case finally came to light in May 2003, when the badly decomposed remains of three newborns were discovered among property left in an Arizona storage facility.

The Victims

• Unidentified newborn infant: Born and killed in 1982 in the Kauneonga Lake area of Sullivan County, New York. No exact date of birth or death and no publicly confirmed name were released. Prosecutors established that the child had been born alive and died from suffocation.
• Unidentified newborn infant: Born and killed in 1983 in the Kauneonga Lake area of Sullivan County, New York. The infant's exact birth date, death date and name were not made public. Forensic evidence indicated that the baby had lived after delivery and was then fatally asphyxiated.
• Unidentified newborn infant: Born and killed in 1985 in the Kauneonga Lake area of Sullivan County, New York. Public records identify only the year of death. The child was one of the three newborns whose concealed remains were eventually recovered in Arizona.

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Confirmed Victims: (3)

Infant 1 , Date of Death: 1982

Diane O'Dell - Wikipedia