dpOCEANA COUNTY, MI – Falana Scott has no idea why someone would think she was the woman who gave birth to a newborn baby found dead at Electric Forest.
A mother herself, Scott couldn’t fathom how she became the center of online speculation and false allegations that spread like wildfire.
“I’m innocent,” the Muskegon woman said. “(This has) been a lot of emotions and a lot of things to process. America still thinks I did it.”
Scott agreed to an interview with MLive/Muskegon Chronicle on Sunday, July 12 – two days after she was cleared by Michigan State Police.
“After completing the necessary investigative steps, MSP can confirm that she has been eliminated as a suspect in this case,” state police said in a statement.
A newborn baby was found dead June 28 in a portable bathroom at the Double JJ Resort on the festival’s final day. A worker from the restroom vending company made the horrific discovery during a routine maintenance check.
Police continue to investigate whether the baby died in a portable restroom at the music festival or was stillborn before being brought there. The woman who gave birth to the baby has not been located.
Investigators have repeatedly urged the public to be wary of speculation and misinformation spreading online.
About a week after the festival ended, posts on social media began circulating and wrongly identified Scott as the woman involved in the case.
State police followed up on tips alleging Scott was responsible. Police did not identify Scott by name when exonerating her but said she was “fully cooperative throughout the process.”
Scott could not say much about her interview with police, but she said she gave investigators every type of DNA sample they requested. She said she was cleared through DNA testing.
Scott said she went to Electric Forest this year and it was her 10th time attending. She said she was pregnant – about 10-13 weeks – when she attended the four-day festival but later had a miscarriage.
In the days after being wrongly accused, Scott said it had been hard to see the hurtful things people had said. She’s tried to stay off social media, but it doesn’t help, she said.
“Sometimes no response is the best response,” she said. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. Not everything is what it appears to be.”
No arrests have been made as police continue to investigate.
Police asked anyone with information to contact investigators at michigan.gov/michtip.
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