A WOMAN who drowned her newborn baby and dumped the body in a dumpster has been identified 17 years later, all thanks to a Costco receipt and DNA evidence.

Angela Onduto, 47, was sentenced after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of a newborn girl found in a dumpster.

Angela Onduto, 47, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest to voluntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of her newborn daughter

The newborn, named Matea Esperanza by Union City police, was found dead in a dumpster at the Parkside Apartments in Union City, California, on May 18, 2009

The dumpster was located at the Parkside Apartments in Union City, about 30 miles south of San Francisco, according to SFGate.

Despite DNA evidence, Onduto still walked away with just six years in prison.

The baby — named Matea Esperanza by Union City police officers, meaning “gift of God” and “hope” — was discovered by a man searching for recyclables on May 18, 2009, according to a news release by the Union City Police Department.

An autopsy determined she had been drowned and left in the dumpster for less than 24 hours.

Detectives used advanced DNA analysis of evidence collected in 2009 to identify Onduto.

She had previously been flagged as a person of interest in the initial investigation before further DNA comparison confirmed she was the mother of the baby.

Onduto was arrested when authorities traveled to Denver in May 2025, around what would have been Matea’s 16th birthday, to coordinate with local law enforcement.

Charges were initially withheld pending further forensic analysis and a review of the medical examiner’s findings.

Weeks later, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office filed a murder charge against Onduto, and she was taken into custody by Denver police on July 2, 2025.

Union City detectives worked to extradite her to Alameda County to face court proceedings.

“Angela expressed no remorse,” detectives wrote in a charging document, per SFGate.

As the case worked its way through the courts, a judge revoked Onduto’s medical license to practice physical therapy, according to Mercury News.

A Costco receipt found in the dumpster alongside the baby’s body helped detectives crack the cold case after (stock image)

Advanced DNA analysis identified Angela Onduto as the mother and prime suspect (stock image)

Her lawyers argued the case had no bearing on her career, claiming she “labored for hours overnight and gave birth alone in her bathtub, then drowned the baby almost immediately post-partum,” the outlet reported.

“In the Summer of 2017, UCPD POA purchased a permanent marker placed on her gravesite and unveiled it during a remembrance service at Chapel of the Chimes,” police said in a May statement.

“She is a part of our UCPD family and will not be forgotten.”

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/16602450/costco-receipt-killer-newborn-found-dumpster-jail/