Merseyside Police have said that the body of a baby boy found at Brackenwood was left unclothed and could have been outdoors for up to three weeks, before being discovered by dog walkers.
Yesterday, birkenhead.news spoke to Det Ch Supt Lee Turner, who is in charge of the Merseyside Police investigation.
“There were no personal effects with the baby. It is not clear how long he had been there or when he died.”, he said
“We are appealing for help in finding the mum or dad to ensure that they have all the right support and help and for them to help us to fill in gaps as to what has happened.”
Regarding the post mortem, he said, “The post mortem was held today but was inconclusive and further forensic tests will be carried out.”
Merseyside Police have issued a video presented by Det Ch Supt Lee Turner, appealing for information.
This is the full transcript of the video:
“About twenty-five past four on Friday the 29th of January, two members of the public were walking their dogs on Brackenwood Golf Course, on the Wirral, when unfortunately they discovered what they felt was a baby boy.
“The police were contacted, we attended at the scene and it was unfortunately confirmed that we’d actually discovered the body of a baby boy.
“Over the weekend, a number of police officers were in attendance, cordons were in place and the forensic pathologists attended the scene in order to assist us with our enquiries.
“So, it has been determined from post-mortem examination today [Monday 1 February] that it is that of a baby boy, he has been dead probably a number of weeks.
“Due to the weather and the fact it has been very cold, it is difficult to try and determine just how long ago he unfortunately died. What we are able to determine is that it’s a full-term birth and we are desperate really to contact mum, or dad, or family members in order to try and build up a timeline or version of events what has happened up to and leading to both the birth and the unfortunate death of the little boy.
“It is quite a remote location, we haven’t got a great deal of house-to-house, due to the fact there’s not many houses close by or closed-circuit television.
“The little boy was found close to some gate posts, old sandstone gate posts, which are between Mount Road and the 16th [hole].
“It is vital, really, that we identify that mum is OK from a health perspective and a safeguarding perspective, that she may need medical intervention or certainly need some support and advice with regards to her mental state.
“We are also desperate to try and reunite the little boy back with his family, just so he can have some form of funeral facilities going forward.
“We are wanting to build up that picture and assist us with our investigation, to put some detail around this, what is currently an unexplained death and it would assist if anybody could provide some detail and it may not be that individuals are directly aware of what’s going on.
“But if they have seen a sudden change in, certainly, a ladies demeanour, her moods, etc., that has raised suspicion and that may well be family members or members of the community.
“I think it is important for the to ring the police or certainly speak to Crimestoppers, if the don’t feel that they can come to the police direct and want to remain anonymous.
“Any death of a baby is clearly tragic and the fact thatt this baby has been found in the circumstances that he has been found, makes it even more sad.
“It may well only be that mum is the person who can help us. Clearly, the post-mortem is inconclusive, we will undergo a number of forensic tests in an effort to try and identify who mum or dad or family members are.
“But, that’s going to take time and I would much prefer the people to come forward, give us some detail around how the little boy has come to be in the position that he is in and any further assistance will be greatly appreciated.”
Merseyside Police is asking anyone who has any information which could assist them to contact them as a matter of urgency, either by calling 101, DM @MerPolCC or anonymously via CrimestoppersUK on 0800 555 111.