This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/15/hampshire-police-hunt-killer-of-newborn-found-in-park

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Hampshire police hunt killer of newborn found in park Hampshire police seek mother of newborn girl killed in park
(about 1 hour later)
Baby discovered in Aldershot was no more than six hours old when she was killed by blows to the head Baby found in Aldershot was no more than six hours old when she died from blows to the head
Press Association Matthew Weaver
Mon 15 Jan 2018 14.23 GMTMon 15 Jan 2018 14.23 GMT
Last modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 14.34 GMT Last modified on Mon 15 Jan 2018 15.51 GMT
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
View more sharing optionsView more sharing options
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
CloseClose
Detectives are hunting the murderer of a newborn baby girl who suffered multiple head injuries before she was found in the bushes of a town centre park. Detectives are trying to trace the mother of a baby girl who was beaten to death in a park hours after she was born.
The body of the girl, who has been named only as Baby M by officers, was discovered at the edge of Manor Park in Aldershot, Hampshire, by a local council worker on 19 May last year.The body of the girl, who has been named only as Baby M by officers, was discovered at the edge of Manor Park in Aldershot, Hampshire, by a local council worker on 19 May last year.
A postmortem found that the child, who was no more than six hours old when she died, suffered multiple blunt force injuries to the head with other minor injuries to her body.A postmortem found that the child, who was no more than six hours old when she died, suffered multiple blunt force injuries to the head with other minor injuries to her body.
DCI Dave Storey, of Hampshire police, said scientific analysis identified that the birth would most likely have happened between 6pm on 15 May and 8am the following day. In a video appeal filmed beside the park DCI Dave Storey, of Hampshire police, said identifying the girl’s parents was key to understanding the murder.
It is thought the mother gave birth on a nearby road. CCTV footage found images of two people walking past the birth site 10 times between 11.30pm on 15 May and 12.30am on 16 May. “We are in possession of a full DNA profile of the baby’s mother, which we can use to prove or eliminate any women believed to be involved in the investigation,” he said.
Storey added that a DNA profile taken from the baby showed that both she and her mother, and probably her father, were of East Asian ethnicity. A spokeswoman added: “We wouldn’t say that the mother is a suspect, but she is obviously an important person we need to talk to. Whether or not she committed the murder is what we have to ascertain.”
He said police were considering that either the mother or someone else was responsible for the injuries suffered. Police believe the baby was born and killed in the park.
Soil and insect experts from the National History Museum estimated that birth happened between 6pm on 15 May and 8am the following day.
CCTV captured images of two people walking past the birth site 10 times between 11.30pm on 15 May and 12.30am on 16 May.
Storey added that a DNA profile taken from the baby showed that both she and her mother, and probably her father, were of east Asian ethnicity. One of the figures in the CCTV footage appeared wearing east Asian clothes.
Storey said: “This remains a particularly sad case which despite extensive investigation we are still are nowhere nearer to identifying the newborn baby, Baby M, nor her mother.Storey said: “This remains a particularly sad case which despite extensive investigation we are still are nowhere nearer to identifying the newborn baby, Baby M, nor her mother.
“We have a baby who is unnamed and at this stage is still not buried and we would like some assistance in order to identify the mother and obtain some justice for Baby M.”“We have a baby who is unnamed and at this stage is still not buried and we would like some assistance in order to identify the mother and obtain some justice for Baby M.”
He said: “Initially when the investigation was launched we were concerned regarding the health of the mother, so there were lots of inquiries undertaken with local partners, NHS and local communities in order to identify the mother which were unsuccessful. He explained that despite interviews with local health workers, police have been unable to find the mother.
“We have carried out lots of inquiries since then including pathology, scientific work regarding the baby’s ancestry and what was established fairly early on was the baby’s death was a result of deliberate head injuries and as such we launched a murder inquiry. Storey said: “We still would like to identify the mother and provide some support because it takes an awful lot for a mother to give birth to a child to then either kill the baby or have the baby taken away from her and killed immediately afterwards.”
“We still would like to identify the mother and provide some support because it takes an awful lot for a mother to give birth to a child to then either kill the baby or have the baby taken away from her and killed immediately afterwards.”
Asking for the public’s help, Storey said: “We have a couple walking past the birth scene between 11.30pm and 12.30am and they don’t just walk past once, they walk past 10 times and we strongly believe they may be connected with the birth and subsequent murder and we are appealing for witnesses or information to identify those two persons.Asking for the public’s help, Storey said: “We have a couple walking past the birth scene between 11.30pm and 12.30am and they don’t just walk past once, they walk past 10 times and we strongly believe they may be connected with the birth and subsequent murder and we are appealing for witnesses or information to identify those two persons.
“We are also launching some significant house-to-house inquiries in and around Manor Park to try to identify witnesses or people who have knowledge of the murder.”“We are also launching some significant house-to-house inquiries in and around Manor Park to try to identify witnesses or people who have knowledge of the murder.”
UK newsUK news
CrimeCrime
ChildrenChildren
Social careSocial care
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content