The police department is reopening its investigation into four cases of dead babies who caught colds between 1981 and 2005.

HOUSTON — Investigators with the Houston Police Department are hoping to shed light on several heartbreaking cold cases involving unidentified babies.

Detectives are hoping new technologies such as genealogy will help give children names.

The first case to be reopened dates back to the 1980s. The baby was found dead on Evans Street in southeast Houston.

Another case under review relates to the 1990s. In 1994, a child was found dead on Cavalcade Street in northern Houston.

HPD Sgt. Richard Rodriguez leads the 2002 investigation team. A child was found on Blueridge Road in Missouri City. A red blanket was found in the ditch with the baby.

The place was a dump at the time, but two things from the crime scene caught Rodriguez’s attention: a red blanket and a bag of medicine.

“So when you think about what kind of case you want to work on, you think about the type of victim you have — that’s the type of victim that you want to go the extra mile and try to do something with,” Rodriguez said. “What could be more innocent than a dead baby? What could be more innocent than a child? They haven’t had a chance to live yet.”

The fourth case refers to the turn of the millennium. In 2005, a child was found dead on North Main Street in northern Houston.

Rodriguez said it looks like the kids were unwanted and thrown out like garbage.

“You never know what someone was going through at the time, obviously it was an unwanted birth. However, once these babies are born, they deserve to live,” Rodriguez said.

Investigators are hoping someone will pick up something – a red blanket, a bag, or maybe even a memory of one of the babies.

Meanwhile, the authorities are using DNA and genealogy to find the parents.

“Now that we have that, I think it’s time for these kids to get the justice they deserve,” Rodriguez said.

The medical examiner classified each of the cases as murder, allowing them to charge someone with the murder if the investigation leads them to do so.

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