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Discovery of newborn baby's body Needham Market

The Joint Norfolk and Suffolk Major Investigation Team have launched an investigation following the discovery of a newborn baby's body at Needham Market on 14th May 2020


Details of Incident

Saturday 14 May marks two years since the discovery of the body of a newborn 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 may create some concern, but it is the right thing to do".

 

A funeral was held for Baby S on 17 February this year.

 

An inquest into Baby S' death is scheduled for 21 June 2022.

 

It is believed the newborn 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 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 and 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 Police.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact Information

If you would prefer to speak to someone please call 101 and ask for Suffolk Police quoting 'Op Shelby or 37/26499/20'

 

Alternatively you can visit the Suffolk Constabulary website https://www.suffolk.police.uk/contact-us/existing-report-update

Crimestoppers, the independent charity, can also be used with 100% anonymity - they can be contacted on 0800 555111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org

 

In an emergency always call 999