Experts: Testing in case of baby found dead 30 years ago in KY landfill is flawed
Two experts, including a former Kentucky medical examiner, say testing used to indict a woman recently in the case of a baby found dead more than 30 years ago at a landfill is scientifically flawed.
The test, known as a lung float test, was used in 1991 to determine the baby was born alive and abandoned in a dumpster on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University. And in January, Jennifer Cummins, 55, of Fairfax, Va., was indicted on a murder charge in the baby’s death.
But two experts hired by Cummins’ lawyers — including Meredith Frame, a former state medical examiner in Frankfort and now a medical pathologist at the University of Kentucky — say the lung float test is outdated and not scientifically accurate, and the baby was likely stillborn.
“The lung float results cannot be used as the sole indicator of live birth,” Frame wrote in her findings, according to new court documents in Cummins’ criminal case.
What we know about the case
Cummins was arrested Jan. 6 by a Fairfax County tracking task force after Kentucky State Police determined she was responsible for the death of the infant, known as “Baby Jane Doe.”
In 1991, a sanitation worker on EKU’s campus discovered the baby’s remains.
“Despite investigative efforts at the time, the case later went cold,” KSP said in a previous press release.
In recent years, state police reexamined the case with new advancements in forensic science and investigative technology, which helped identify Cummins as the person of interest.
The agency did not say what technology they used to link Cummins to Baby Jane Doe. Cummins was indicted by a Madison County grand jury Dec. 23, 2025, according to online court records.
The state medical examiner ruled Baby Jane Doe was born alive and healthy before she was placed inside the dumpster by using the lung float test methodology. At the time, the medical examiner ruled the baby died from hypothermia caused by exposure.
But, since Baby Jane Doe’s autopsy and Cummins’ arrest, the lung float test has been largely discredited to determine live births.
Lung float testing
A lung float test was used to determine if the newborn took a breath outside the womb, based on whether the baby’s lung tissue floats in water.
If the lung tissue floats, it indicates that there was a presence of air and suggests a baby was born alive. If the lung tissue sinks, it suggests a stillbirth.
But the test, and its methodology, has become widely criticized and is no longer recognized as sound science by the National Association of Medical Examiners.
False positives can sometimes occur with the tests because decomposition can produce gas that would case the lungs to float, even if a baby did not breathe.
And given advancements in forensic pathology since the 1991 autopsy, there is now medical evidence that this “test” is not a test at all, Frame said in her report on Cummins’ case.
Frame said she would rule the cause of death as “undetermined,” because in addition to the questionable lung float test, there was no other evidence of proof of life.
“If the autopsy and investigative findings do not provide clear and convincing evidence of live birth, it is recommended to default to a designation of fetal death (stillbirth),” Frame said in her report. “There is no such evidence to support live birth in this case.”
The second expert, Steven White, a board certified forensic pathologist in Toronto, said Baby Jane Doe likely died in utero and was stillborn. He also believed the cause of death should be ruled as “undetermined.”
“Based on my education, training, and years of experience as a board-certified forensic pathologist, there is no scientific or medical way to determine that Infant Jane Doe was born alive,” White wrote. “The ‘lung float test,’ used by the forensic pathologist performing the autopsy, has been shown to be unreliable and should not be used as the sole determinant of live birth.”
Cummins’ attorney, Brad Clark, has asked that a judge reduce his client’s bond from the current $1 million bond to $5,000 with certain conditions of release.
A pretrial conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. March 19.
