A construction worker was traumatised after discovering century-old baby remains under floorboards in County Durham.
Police think the baby died soon after birth with twine tied around its neck. They want to know precisely when the baby died and carbon dating will provide this information. DNA may also help find living relatives.
David found the remains while removing floorboards with a colleague. He was in shock when unwrapping them, and said it strongly affected him. He saw a ribcage in the newspaper ball, initially thinking it was a pigeon.
David then noticed a small skull. He dropped it in shock on the floor and noticed a small arm fall off. The baby was small like his daughter.
He Facetimed his wife for advice, and she saw twine around the baby’s neck. His wife told him to call the police who arrived and confirmed the find.
David worked for an undertaker before, usually handling bodies well. This baby discovery bothered him though, and PTSD still affects him from it. He feels police haven’t updated him enough.
Drinking brings back the memory, and he can’t understand hurting a baby. He has six children of his own now. He hopes the baby can rest in peace and that they find relatives.
Police are checking records from 1900-1920, seeking the baby’s identity. The remains were hidden, and the death is suspicious because of the twine.
The building is Victorian-era and once housed a mother and baby unit. Police think the baby was hidden earlier, making the investigation very difficult. They still have a duty to the baby though.
Police want to identify the baby and know what actually happened. They aim to give the baby a proper funeral.
A woman, Mary Jane Walker, may be the mother and lived there in the early 1900s. She may be connected to the baby, but scientific evidence needs to prove the link. The 1911 census showed her there and she seemed the only woman to have had a child.
She never married during fifty years there, and pregnancies outside marriage caused women to hide them then. Police are trying to find the truth. They want to give the baby closure. The historical case remains a mystery.