More than eight years after "Baby Mary" was found in a backpack in a Fayette County creek, the woman who allegedly gave birth to her as a teenager was identified through new technology and charged in the newborn's death.

In a criminal complaint filed with District Judge Wendy Dennis of Uniontown, Trooper James Pierce of the Uniontown state police outlined how Sarah Sue Hawk, 25, of 202 Woodview Terrace, North Union, came to be charged with homicide.

In April, the complaint said, Pierce requested a saliva sample from Kristie Lynn Bircher, 32, of Lemont Furnace, because she and her family reside close to where the newborn was discovered by two cousins in June 2000. Bircher agreed to provide the sample, Pierce said. It was collected for testing by the New Jersey State Police Mitochondrial DNA Laboratory for comparison with the infant's mitochondrial DNA profile.

In July police received a report from the lab confirming that Bircher's and the baby's profiles were concordant (showing presence of a given trait). Colleen Kumar, forensic scientist at the New Jersey lab, said that based on her analysis, Bircher could not be excluded as being related to the baby. Therefore, Bircher or a maternal relative (sister, daughter or mother) of hers was the infant's biological mother.

On Aug. 18, Pierce obtained search warrants from District Judge Dwight Shaner of Smock for saliva samples from Bircher and her biological sisters for testing at Marshall University Forensic Science Center. Hawk is one of Bircher's biological sisters.

On Nov. 4, Pierce received a lab report stating that Hawk "cannot be excluded as the biological mother of the victim and it is 44,579 times more likely that Sarah Sue Hawk is the biological mother of the victim."

The relative chance of maternity, the report noted, is 99.997 percent, as opposed to a random, untested woman in the Caucasian population who is unrelated to Hawk.

Police plan a noon news conference today to further discuss the case.

A preliminary hearing is planned Wednesday before Dennis.

Hawk remains in the Fayette County Prison without bond.

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