Baby

The body of a newly born female child was found in Seaton Sluice Burn.

The body was found by an 11-year-old schoolboy that had been out playing along with other children beside the burn. He saw a parcel tied with string in the water and when he pulled it out he found that it contained the body of a baby and immediately informed the police. He said that the parcel had been lying in the burn with the bottom half covered in water.

The body had been wrapped up in an old blanket and tied with a piece of ordinary hemp string.

A doctor that examined the child said that he thought that it had been dead for about four days. He said that the child had marks on its neck which appeared as though the child had been strangled which he said had apparently been done with a piece of cloth or something thicker than string. He said that the mark was very deep at the back of the neck as though some considerable force had been used.

The doctor said that the post-mortem examination showed that the child had had a separate existence and that the child’s lungs showed definite signs of inflation. He said that the body was between 8-9lbs and was that of a fine-looking child.

He said that in his opinion death was due to strangulation and that as far as he could tell the child had lived for about one day.

A verdict of murder against some person or persons unknown was returned.