A 59-year-old Virginia woman has been indicted on two counts of second-degree murder nearly three decades after a newborn boy was found dead inside a toilet in the women’s restroom of the Commack Multiplex. Michelle Chronick Tyson was arraigned Thursday, extradited from Hampton, Virginia, after investigators say a DNA breakthrough finally identified her as the infant’s mother.
A Discovery That Shook Commack in 1996
According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Commack Multiplex employees called police after the deceased infant was discovered inside a toilet in the women’s bathroom at approximately 12:30 a.m. on November 18, 1996. The Suffolk County Medical Examiner determined the victim was a live-born, full-term newborn baby boy. As News12 Long Island reported, the case went cold for decades.
The medical examiner determined the cause of death to be asphyxia with submersion in water and classified the manner of death as homicide, per the same prosecutor’s statement. The Suffolk County Crime Laboratory collected a sample of the newborn’s blood at the time and retained it as evidence, a decision that would prove pivotal decades later.
DNA Technology Finally Breaks the Case
In 2024, the Cold Case Task Force submitted that preserved blood sample to a private lab, which generated a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism, or SNP, DNA profile, the district attorney’s office said. That advanced genetic profile pointed investigators toward Tyson, identifying her in 2024 as the child’s likely biological mother, according to prosecutors.
On August 26, 2026, the task force obtained a search warrant to collect a buccal swab from Tyson. Subsequent DNA analysis confirmed that Tyson was the biological mother of the infant, prosecutors said. District Attorney Ray Tierney said the defendant allegedly chose in 1996 to take her newborn child’s life before he experienced the world beyond his first few breaths.
Arrest, Extradition and Arraignment
Tyson was arrested Wednesday in Hampton, Virginia, and was subsequently extradited to Suffolk County, prosecutors said. She was arraigned Thursday on two counts of murder in the second degree and pleaded not guilty. Justice Pilewski ordered her remanded during the pendency of the case.
Under New York law, a person is guilty of second-degree murder when, with intent to cause another person’s death, that person causes the death of another, according to the statute published by the New York State Senate. Tyson faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted on the top count and is due back in court on November 20. She is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
New York’s Safe Haven Law
New York’s Safe Haven law allows a parent who feels unable to care for a newborn to surrender the infant legally and safely without fear of prosecution, with a surrender window of up to 30 days old. New York’s Safe Haven law, also known as the Abandoned Infant Protection Act, helps prevent the deaths of unwanted newborns, according to the New York State Office of Children and Family Services.
