Zara Malani-Lin (3 mo.) R.I.P.

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DNA tests confirm identity of infant's body found after being thrown from N.J. bridge
By Tom Haydon/The Star-Ledger
May 03, 2010

The father of Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem, left, told police he threw the 3-month-old girl from the Garden State Parkway's Driscoll Bridge Tuesday night; he pleaded guilty to kidnapping charges in February. In this photo, State Police were searching the river with boats for the baby's body.

SAYREVILLE -- DNA tests have confirmed that the body of an infant girl found on the edge of the Raritan River in Sayreville was the 3-month-old girl allegedly kidnapped by her father on Feb. 16 in East Orange and thrown from a Garden State Parkway bridge, authorities said today.

Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem, 21, of Galloway Township, is charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of his daughter, Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem, and remains in custody at the Essex County Jail.

Zara Malani-Lin's body was missing for more than two months after Abdur-Raheem told authorities he threw the girl from the Driscoll Bridge. The infant's body was found April 24 by people walking on the south bank of the Raritan River near the Victory Bridge on Route 35.
Previous coverage:

• N.J. Amber Alerts to be used in family kidnappings after father threw baby into Raritan River case

• N.J. authorities probe restraining-order delay in East Orange infant kidnapping case

• N.J. mother holds out hope her missing baby is still alive

• N.J. Attorney General probes four-hour gap between baby abduction, Amber Alert

• Mother of N.J. baby believed thrown from Garden State Parkway bridge pleads for safe return

• N.J. man accused of throwing infant daughter from Parkway bridge had restraining order

• 21-year-old tells police he threw his infant daughter off Driscoll Bridge after alleged abduction
Attorney General Paula Dow announced today that DNA testing confirmed the body was the girl's remains. The infant's mother, Venetta Benjamin, and the girl's grandmother, Leno Benjamin, met with authorities about 1 p.m. today to learn the results of the DNA test.

Leno Benjamin was watching Zara Malani-Lin on Feb. 16 at her East Orange residence when Abdur-Raheem attacked the grandmother and fled with the girl, authorities have said. Abdur-Raheem drove south and stopped on the Garden State Parkway bridge, where he threw the infant, Zara Malani-Lin, into the river, authorities have said.

Abdur-Raheem continued driving south to Atlantic County and was later taken into custody at his father's home in Winslow Township, Camden County.

Vanetta Benjamin, a 23-year-old college student, had sought a restraining order against Abdur-Raheem the day before the kidnapping, but the order was not issue until the next day. Benjamin has said she was turned away by police due to the President's Day holiday. She recently said she plans to sue the police over the restraining order delay.

The case also prompted a revision to New Jersey's Amber Alert system used in child abductions. Several hours passed between when Zara Malani-Lin's kidnapping was reported and the decision was made to issue an Amber Alert. By then, Abdur-Raheem was already in custody and the child had been thrown from the bridge.

The Attorney General's officials issued new Amber Alert guidelines that broadened the use of the alerts in kidnapping cases involving family members.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/05/dna_tests_confirm_identity_3-m.html

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