Minnehaha County Jail Theresa Rose Bentaas
Theresa Rose Bentaas, 57, is facing murder charges after police linked her DNA to that of a newborn baby who was found dead in a ditch nearly four decades ago. Investigators said the newborn, whom they named Baby Andrew, had been alive at the time he was abandoned in 1981 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Bentaas admitted to police that she had been pregnant when she was 19 years old and did not tell anyone, including the baby’s father, whom she eventually married. Her husband is not facing charges.
Here’s what you need to know.
1. The Newborn Baby Boy Died From Exposure to the Elements, According to the Coroner
Baby Andrew was discovered on February 28, 1981. The man who found the baby, Lee Litz, told the Argus Leader that he has always viewed the baby as his “long lost son.” Litz explained that he and his friends had been testing a new vehicle that day when he noticed a wine-colored blanket in a ditch. The area, which has since been developed into a residential neighborhood, was nothing but a field in 1981. The sight of blankets in a ditch would have been unusual.
Litz found the baby, already dead, wrapped in the blanket. Litz called for help and prayed that the baby could be revived, but it was too late.
According to the police affidavit, cited by USA Today, the baby boy was still attached to the placenta and there was a pair of women’s underwear and a shirt lying in the ditch. Sioux Falls Police explained in a news conference on March 8, 2019, that the baby had been born at full-term. The coroner determined that the baby had been breathing at the time he was put in the ditch but gradually succumbed to the elements.
Litz explained that he was already a father when he found Baby Andrew, and could not begin to comprehend why someone would do this to an innocent child. He and his family visit Andrew’s grave regularly and think of him as a member of the family. He told the Argus Leader that the sight of Baby Andrew’s cold face has haunted him for 38 years. “It was a human life. He never got the chance to live. There are times when I wish I hadn’t found him and there are times that I’m glad I did. I just wish I found him earlier, when he was still alive.”
2. Investigators Exhumed Baby Andrew’s Body in 2009 & Used His DNA to Connect Him to Theresa Bentaas
The murder case went cold. Police did not identify any suspects and no one came forward to either claim responsibility or offer any clues as to who the child’s mother may have been. No one came forward to report a missing baby, either.
In 2009, Detective Michael Webb of the Crimes Against Persons division of the Sioux Falls Police Department took up the case. As he explained in a news conference on March 8, he was able to make progress in the case due to advancements in DNA technology that investigators did not have access to in 1981. They exhumed Baby Andrew’s body in order to retrieve DNA samples, which were tested at the University of North Texas. The body was re-buried in 2010.
Detective Webb explained that the process of comparing the baby’s DNA to others was long and difficult. They had no one to compare the child against. Detective Webb’s team obtained permission to search the South Dakota DNA database but didn’t come up with a match.
The case was finally cracked thanks to help from a private genealogy company called Parabon Labs. Detective Webb said Parabon was able to connect Baby Andrew’s DNA to potential family members in the Sioux Falls area. Police used that information to map out a possible family tree using public information such as marriage and birth announcements.
Detective Webb explained that investigators always assumed that the suspect may have been a young person. They discovered that one of the women they had identified through the DNA lab had two children, who were 18 and 19 years old in 1981. Detective Webb said this was the first major lead in 38 years on this case.
Police obtained DNA from the Bentaas’ home and sent it to the South Dakota Forensic Lab to be tested. Detective Webb explained that the DNA evidence revealed that Theresa Bentaas was the mother of Baby Andrew. They also unexpectedly found that her husband, Dirk Bentaas, was Baby Andrew’s biological father.
3. Police: Theresa Bentaas Confessed & Admitted She Had Kept Her Pregnancy a Secret; Police Said Her Now-Husband Had No Knowledge of the Crime
South Dakota Woman Theresa Rose Bentaas Allegedly Said She Was ‘Young and Stupid’ When She Left Newborn to Die in a Ditch 38 Years Ago t.co/knzdul0tkf
Detective Webb explained that after acquiring DNA and linking Theresa and Dirk Bentaas to baby Andrew, they conducted interviews with the family. He said the interviews further confirmed that she was the mother.
According to the affidavit, Theresa Bentaas, whose maiden name is Josten, admitted that she had kept her pregnancy a secret from everyone she knew. She admitted that she had given birth, alone, and had abandoned the baby in an attempt to conceal what had happened. She described herself as having been “young and stupid.”
Her husband, Dirk Bentaas, is not facing any charges. Detective Webb explained in the news conference that it became clear in interviews that Mr. Bentaas had not known about the crime. Theresa Bentaas was arrested and booked into the Minnehaha County Jail. Bond was set at $250,000, according to inmate records.
4. Theresa Bentaas is Charged With Murder & Could Face Life in Prison
An arrest has been made on a cold case dating back to 1981. Theresa (Josten) Bentaas faces 1st & 2nd degree murder charges, and 1st degree manslaughter. She was arrested this morning around 7:15AM, and will likely be in court on Monday. @KDLTNews
Theresa Rose Bentaas is charged with:
• First-degree Murder
• Second-degree Murder
• First-degree Manslaughter
First-degree murder can result in life in prison or even the death penalty, according to South Dakota law. The case is being prosecuted by Randy Sample and Crystal Johnson of the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney’s office.
However, Prosecutor Aaron McGowan told the Argus Leader that it is “rare” for his office to pursue the death penalty in their jurisdiction. He told the newspaper, “We’re still early in the criminal justice process.”
McGowan also commended the Sioux Falls Police Department for their “phenomenal” investigative work. He said during the news conference on March 8, “To bring a case from 1981 to the point where my office is able to bring forth these charges is just phenomenal.”
5. Theresa Bentaas Has Two Grown Children & Previously Worked as a Paralegal
Theresa Rose Josten Bentaas is a Sioux Falls, South Dakota native. She and Dirk Bentaas got married in 1987. They have two grown children, a daughter and a son.
Bentaas previously worked as a paralegal. She was employed at the Lynn, Jackson, Shultz & Lebrun, P.C law firm in Sioux Falls.
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