Attempts to identify baby girl continues two years after body was found at recycling centre

Funeral of Baby S in Ipswich Photo: Charlotte Bond.

Tomorrow, Saturday, May 14, will mark two years since the discovery of the body of a new-born baby girl at a recycling centre in Needham Market.

Named Baby S, officers are still trying to discover the girl’s identity and find answers to what happened to her that led to her being found at Sackers recycling centre.

Experts have been supporting the constabulary’s enquiry to establish how she died and who her family are.

Unfortunately, the injuries Baby S received after her death, that resulted from the waste processing, have hindered the attempts of the enquiry.

Officers are able to confirm Baby S was born alive at full-term, however it is not possible to say whether there was one single cause or a combination of causes of her death. She did, however, suffer a head injury prior to her death.

DNA work continues to try and identify the parents of Baby S, who is believed to be from a black or mixed ethnicity background.

Detective Chief Inspector Karl Nightingale said: “We remain hopeful and determined to identify Baby S’ family and understand what led to her discovery on 14 May 2020. To assist in finding those answers we still need people to come forward and provide us with information. We understand this this may create some concern, but it is the right thing to do.”

A funeral was held for Baby S on February 17 this year and an inquest into her death is scheduled for June 21, 2022.

It is believed the new-born baby girl was taken to Sackers on the day her body was discovered. She is thought to have been inside one of two waste collection vehicles which picked up commercial waste throughout the day from 52 different locations.

The waste belonged to businesses and not private homes. Many of these were in and around the Ipswich area, with some collections being made along the general route from Sackers in Needham Market.

During the police inquiry a substantial amount of work has taken place to try to identify Baby S. A dedicated team of officers reviewed more than 11,000 hours of CCTV footage and visited more than 800 addresses.

A comprehensive search was undertaken at the recycling centre, during which a number of items were taken away. Sadly, forensic analysis of the items did not provide any further answers in the search for the baby girl’s parents.

Baby S was found during the first lockdown in the country, at a time when her mother may have been in contact with fewer people than normal, but her pregnancy and giving birth may have been apparent and we need people with information to share that with the police.

Anyone with information which could help the inquiry can contact police 100% anonymously via Crimestoppers. Any information, even provided anonymously, may help.

This can be provided in a number of ways:

Using the online portal https://mipp.police.uk/operation/363719N35-PO1 or by calling 101 and quoting reference 37/26499/20.

Website – http://www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/existing-report-update

Crimestoppers – Contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their online form: www.crimestoppers-uk.org

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *