UNION COUNTY, N.C. -- A woman charged in the death of a newborn baby girl did not appear to have been pregnant, according to a friend interviewed Thursday evening. Erica Kelly, 22, is expected to make her first court appearance Friday morning on charges of murdering her newborn daughter, who was found dead near a burn pile in February with the umbilical cord still attached.

Investigators also charged Kelly with hiding a pregnancy. Chris White said Kelly was his cousin's girlfriend. White said he never suspected that she might be pregnant.

"She didn't even look it," said White. "If you looked at her, that's how she looks all the time. She never gained no weight and never lost any."

Investigators said they charged Kelly after receiving results from a DNA test a few days ago. Deputies did not comment on a possible motive in the case. They did say that Kelley has another child who is two-and-a-half years old.

Deputies arrested Kelly at her job on Thursday. A homeowner found the newborn girl near the burn pile in her yard on Whispering Hollow Road south of Waxhaw on Feb. 24.

An autopsy determined the infant was born after a full-term pregnancy and was born alive. Investigators said they believe Kelly abandoned the baby before her death.

The sheriff’s office said detectives linked Kelly to the infant through DNA evidence. They said she was staying at the home near Waxhaw at the time and was interviewed the day the baby was found, but neither she nor anyone else in the home mentioned she had been pregnant.

Investigators with the sheriff’s office and the State Bureau of Investigations said they interviewed a lot of witnesses, held information checkpoints and conducted extensive DNA testing to solve the case.

“We had to wait on the science, which can be frustrating at times,” said Sheriff Eddie Cathey. Investigators said secondary DNA testing verified the initial test results. They would not comment further on the case.

“This death absolutely did not have to occur, given the Safe Surrender statutes on the books,” Cathey said.

Kelly is being held in the Union County Jail without bond.

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