WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The mother of a newborn baby found floating in the Boynton Beach Inlet more than four years ago faced a judge Friday morning, one day after her arrest on a first-degree murder charge.
During her initial court appearance that lasted less than two minutes, Arya Singh, 29, of Boynton Beach, was denied bond and will remain in the Palm Beach County Jail.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, Singh is the mother of "Baby June," whose naked body was discovered by an off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter on June 1, 2018.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Forensic Biology Unit used a pilot program to help identify the newborn child's father and, ultimately, her mother.
"He knew nothing about the baby," Detective Brittany Christoffel said. "He knew that he had a girlfriend around that time (who) told him that she had been pregnant, but she had taken care of it."
Christoffel said the father believed Singh had an abortion.
Next, Christoffel said, investigators were able to collect a "covert DNA sample from her and confirm that she was the mother."
Through a series of investigative tactics, Christoffel said, detectives were able to search Singh's cellphone records and determined that she had been at the Boynton Beach Inlet on May 30, 2018, about 40 hours before the baby's body was discovered.
Christoffel said Singh also searched news stories about the baby's discovery in the days that followed.
WATCH: Lead investigator explains how detectives came to arrest mother
"According to the mother, she didn't know she was pregnant up until the time she gave birth, and she said that when the baby was born, she wasn't sure if the baby was alive or dead, and that was that," Christoffel said. "By the time the baby went into the inlet, she was already deceased."
Christoffel later elaborated to reporters that Singh gave birth in a hotel room bathroom.
WATCH: Detective says mother gave birth to 'Baby June' in hotel bathroom
"She didn't know that she was pregnant until she saw that the baby had come out," Christoffel explained. "She said the baby landed in the water and then she went and she passed out. She didn't pick up the baby or check on her at all. She ended up leaving, going to school and then going to the inlet later that night."
Singh's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 17, 2023.