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| Woman charged with concealing birth of deceased child after infant’s body found in WA drain | Woman charged with concealing birth of deceased child after infant’s body found in WA drain |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The infant’s mother, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday | The infant’s mother, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday |
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| A woman has been charged with concealing the birth of a deceased child after the body of a baby boy was found in a storm water drain in Perth. | A woman has been charged with concealing the birth of a deceased child after the body of a baby boy was found in a storm water drain in Perth. |
| The woman, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday following the discovery of the infant on Monday afternoon. | The woman, in her 30s, had been assisting police with enquiries since Wednesday following the discovery of the infant on Monday afternoon. |
| Police had earlier confirmed the infant had been placed in the storm water drain in recent days. | Police had earlier confirmed the infant had been placed in the storm water drain in recent days. |
| On Friday, the WA police homicide chief, Acting Insp Jessica Securo, said police would allege that the child was in the drain for “a short amount of time”. | On Friday, the WA police homicide chief, Acting Insp Jessica Securo, said police would allege that the child was in the drain for “a short amount of time”. |
| Securo said the woman, confirmed to be the infant’s mother, was continuing to receive “appropriate care and support”. | Securo said the woman, confirmed to be the infant’s mother, was continuing to receive “appropriate care and support”. |
| She said police had been alerted about the woman by members of the community, which Securo said may have saved her life. | |
| “Anyone in this woman’s situation I would describe as vulnerable,” she said. | |
| “Our ultimate priority was getting her that medical care, getting her that mental health support, getting everything she needed in that space.” | |
| The woman is co-operating with investigators and forensic testing continues to determine exactly how long the baby was in the drain for, although it is believed to be a short amount of time, Insp Securo said. | |
| “We’re extremely lucky that the two tradesmen came across that child,” she said. | |
| “It is a highly distressing and confronting thing for anyone to come across and we’re just thankful that the tradesmen alerted police as quickly as they did.” | |
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| Securo declined to comment on the age of the infant, and whether he was deceased at the time of delivery. | |
| “At this stage, our information suggests the baby was not killed violently,” she said. | “At this stage, our information suggests the baby was not killed violently,” she said. |
| “This, of course, is highly distressing for the entire community, detectives and as you can imagine, the family of the infant.” | “This, of course, is highly distressing for the entire community, detectives and as you can imagine, the family of the infant.” |
| “I wish to add that if this matter has adversely affected or impacted you, there are support services out there, please engage them,” she said. | “I wish to add that if this matter has adversely affected or impacted you, there are support services out there, please engage them,” she said. |
| Earlier this week, the WA premier, Roger Cook, had called it a “horrifying series of events” that had rocked the community, with flowers and teddy bears being left at the drain site. | Earlier this week, the WA premier, Roger Cook, had called it a “horrifying series of events” that had rocked the community, with flowers and teddy bears being left at the drain site. |
| “This goes to the heart of everyone’s sense of humanity, a small child whose life has passed under tragic circumstances,” he said. | “This goes to the heart of everyone’s sense of humanity, a small child whose life has passed under tragic circumstances,” he said. |
| – with Australian Associated Press |