DNA tests confirm that body found on NJ riverbank is abducted infant whose father is jailed

NJ officials: Body on riverbank was abducted baby

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey prosecutors say DNA testing has confirmed that a body found on a riverbank last month is that of a missing infant.

Zara Malani-Lin Abdur-Raheem had been missing since Feb. 16.

Prosecutors believe her father, Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem, took the 3-month-old from her grandmother’s apartment in East Orange and threw her from a highway bridge

The 21-year-old Galloway Township resident has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. He’s being held on $2.7 million bail.

The body was found on the bank of the Raritan River on April 24. Her clothing matched descriptions given to police when she disappeared.