Baby

The body of a newly-born child was found in a bundle in a wardrobe and then thrown onto a bonfire by a woman who thought the bundle had been simply a bundle of rags.

However, she said that shortly after she discovered that it contained the body of a baby and she contacted the hospital who contacted the police.

It was heard that her 20-year-old daughter had given birth to the child and then put a head-band round the child's neck and then put it in the cupboard.

The daughter was said to have had the mental age of a 12-year-old and had left school four years earlier at 16. After giving birth to the child the daughter had then put the band round the child's throat, noting that she thought she pulled it tight, and then wrapped it up in a nightdress before putting it in the wardrobe. She then tidied up and went off to work.

Her mother said that she had checked with the hospital to see if her daughter had had a miscarriage but was told that she was still pregnant.

The mother found the bundle two days later.

When the daughter gave evidence at the inquest, she said that when her boyfriend, the father of the child asked if she was pregnant, that she denied it, and then pretended that she had had a pregnancy test which had shown negative, when she had not.

She said:

She said that one night, after seeing her boyfriend, that she woke up in the night with stomach pains and realised that she was going to give birth, adding:

She said that the child made a noise at some stage and that she ripped the umbilical cord and then got a headband that she put round its throat. She then said that she thought that she pulled the band tight, however, the evidence showed that the band was not pulled tight.

The daughter then said:

However, the pathologist said that he could find no evidence that asphyxiation due to the ligature had caused death, and gave the cause of death as:

It was then noted by the Coroner that the Director of Public Prosecutions had found that there was insufficient evidence for any charge to be preferred against the daughter.

The Coroner then recorded an open verdict.