Mother sentenced to 20 years in 2023 Deaths of newborn twin sons

COOK COUNTY, IL – A 44-year-old woman has been sentenced to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the 2003 deaths of her newborn twin sons after leaving them in a dumpster in unincorporated Stickney.

Antoinette Briley, formerly of Holland, Michigan, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Tuesday at the Bridgeview Courthouse following an extensive cold case investigation by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

The twin boys’ bodies were discovered on June 6, 2003, by a Waste Management employee emptying trash bins in an alley in the 4800 block of South Latrobe Avenue in unincorporated Stickney Township. The employee said he saw a baby’s arm sticking out of the front bucket of the garbage truck. A subsequent autopsy by the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the babies were born alive and died of asphyxiation. The medical examiner ruled their deaths a homicide.

>>> New details emerge in 2003 deaths of newborn twins, mother charged

According to testimony at her 2020 bond hearing, Briley, then 24, was home alone at the grandparents’ home in unincorporated Stickney when she gave birth to the babies in the bathtub. Briley allegedly placed both babies in a duffel bag, with the full intention of taking them to a hospital to be examined.

She stopped the car somewhere between her grandparents’ home and the hospital, the complaint said. Prosecutors said she randomly selected a trash can and threw away the twins, one of whom was still connected to the placenta via the umbilical cord. The second baby was detached and the placenta was found in a black shoebox. Despite a diligent search for clues, sheriff’s police were unable to identify a suspect.

Cook County investigators in 2003 when newborn babies were found dead in a garbage can.

The cold case was reopened in 2018, when detectives took DNA from the 2003 investigation and used the latest advances in genetic science. Samples were uploaded to GEDMatch, a free online database where anyone can share their data with consumer DNA testing companies, such as 23andMe and Ancestry.com, to search for other family members who may have submitted their DNA. Sheriff’s detectives were able to develop a family profile that allowed them to identify Briley as a possible suspect, prosecutors said.

Cook County detectives traveled to Holland, Michigan, where they learned Briley was living with her young daughter. Prosecutors said Briley was seen smoking a cigarette behind the factory where she worked when detectives collected the cigarette butt for DNA testing.

“(Detectives) didn’t know they were pursuing a suspect from Michigan. It was all genealogy,” Cook County Public Safety Director Leo Schmitz said during a 2020 news conference.

Briley, who grew up in the Chicago area before moving to Michigan, was taken into custody on December 3, 2020, during a traffic stop in Oak Lawn. At the time of her arrest, officers described her behavior as extremely “distraught and emotional.” Briley allegedly confessed to throwing her newborn sons into a garbage bin while they were still alive.

The remaining charges against Briley were dismissed during the hearing.

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