The body of a baby was found by children playing at the southern edge of Maroubra beach in Sydney on Sunday morning.
The baby’s body was found in the sand around 10am by two boys, aged six and seven, who called for their father. The boys — who are reportedly under-six Nippers — who made the grisly discovery while digging in the sand. They are now undergoing counselling.
Police have believe the body was deliberately buried under about 30cm of sand, but they have been unable to determine the age or sex of the baby.
“It’s a very small infant child. The sex and age of the child are unable to be determined at this point due to the decomposition,” Inspector Andrew Holland told reporters.
A crime scene has been established and Police Rescue, homicide squad and specialist forensic officers are all at the scene.
A statement from NSW police reads: “Police from Eastern Beaches Local Area Command were called to the beach and have established a crime scene which will be examined by specialist forensic officers.
“Officers from the police rescue squad are also on scene and investigations into the child’s death are continuing, however, the age and sex of the child are yet to be determined.”
A post-mortem will be conducted today to establish the cause of death.
The grisly discovery follows the rescue of a newborn baby from a drain in Western Sydney last Sunday. That baby miraculously survived five days at the bottom of the drain. Its mother has been charged with attempted murder.
Police are urging anyone with information in relation to this incident to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or use the Crime Stoppers online reporting page here.
Information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence. We remind people they should not report crime information via our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Top Comments
Drop boxes required ASAP!
I do not want to hear of another little life lost because a parent is feeling complete hopelessness and thinks they lack any other options other than concealment/murder.
As Chris below said, no surveillance, complete anonymity.
Give them up to 6 months to claim the bub - a Mum (or Dad) can prove they are the parents with DNA testing long after the drop box is used. No criminal charges and no jail time if the baby is claimed, but be on the books with child protection services until maybe 3 to monitor the family's progress - this would be in the best interests of the child.
Easy said, I also think it's a great idea but are you going to pay higher taxes to fund it and not complain?
I honestly do not think higher taxes are required to retrofit a small hatch in every public hospital. Even with the renovation, flow on costs with extra staff & processes and increased reliance on child protection services, it would still be a drop in the ocean that is government funding.
Case in point, SA's new hospital is costing us $3.2 BILLION dollars over 30 years. If the drop box initiative costs approx. $1-2million a year I am certain that reallocating funding from other areas, a reduction in duplicate costs or even better budget management can achieve this without higher taxes.
The complaints will stem from non-monetary issues such as some (not all) people questioning if a mother dumps her baby, why should she be entitled to get it back and why can't she just leave the baby on the doorstep of the local church, etc. Add all the moral outrage and judgments, plus issues such as adoption, mental health, maternal wellbeing and contraception and you'll get lots of debate. You might even get the 'well, if she can't look after a baby, she shouldn't be having sex' complaint. As you and I know, it's not that simple.
I would rather have a drop box in place, regardless of how much it costs or the ethical debates it generates, because even if it saves just one life, it would be worth it.
Something like this, fifi-lulu?
http://lf.viralnova.com/dro...
Yep, I would personally be grateful that a portion of my taxes would help fund something so that I can sleep better at night knowing that when I wake up in the morning, there's not going to be a dead baby or a baby left for dead on the news.
Poor kids who found this. I'm glad they are getting counselling, what a thing to find. At any age!