Woman sentenced to 20 years in prison for 2003 deaths of her newborn twins: Cook County sheriff

COOK COUNTY, Ill. (WLS) -- A woman has been sentenced in the 2003 deaths of her newborn twins, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said on Tuesday.

Antoinette Briley, 44, pleaded guilty to murder charges at the Bridgeview Courthouse on Tuesday, Dart said. She was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

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This comes after, Dart said, a Waste Management employee found the bodies of Briley's twin baby boys on June 6, 2003. The employee was emptying trash bins in an alley in the 4800 block of South Latrobe Avenue in unincorporated Stickney Township.

The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the babies' deaths a homicide after determining they were born alive before they died of asphyxiation. Detectives investigated, but could not find a suspect.

In 2018, sheriff's police detectives reopened the case and used DNA from evidence in an attempt to find the babies' mother through genetic genealogy. Detectives identified Briley as a potential mother.

Detectives travelled to Holland, Michigan, where Briley is from, and found a discarded item with Briley's DNA, which Dart said was "strongly associated" with the babies' DNA.

On December 3, 2021, detectives took Briley into custody after learning she was in Cook County, Dart said. Briley admitted her involvement in the babies' deaths and the disposal of their bodies.

The Cook County State's Attorney's Office the approved two counts of first-degree murder charges against her the next day, Dart said.