Kimberley - Two teenage boys got the shock of their lives when they discovered the body of a newborn baby inside a red shopping bag in an alley behind Pilchard Street in Homelite, Kimberley on Thursday.
The two boys, aged 15 and 16, said they were searching through rubbish in the ally when they made the gruesome discovery.
“My friend was barefooted so we decided to look for some shoes for him in the ditch. I then saw the bag on a heap of soil on the ditch and decided to go see what was inside .
“I got a fright when I saw the back of the head of the baby and an arm sticking out when I searched through the layers of cloth that was inside the bag. The head had black hair and it looked as if the baby was lying on its tummy because I did not see its face,” the 16-year-old boy said.
He said he shouted to his friend to come and look and they immediately went to ask for help at a nearby house.
“The woman at the house did not believe us. I was afraid and wanted to go home but my friend said we should go to the house of a policeman who was living just up in the street.
“We then ran to the house of the policeman and informed him. He came to the ditch with us to see whether we were telling the truth. He went back to call for help,” he said.
Shocked, curious and disgusted residents stood and watched as forensic officials processed the scene.
The dead baby was wrapped in layers of cloth and was then put inside a shopping bag. The shopping bag was placed inside a purple plastic container which was also put inside another red shopping bag.
Forensic officials took blood samples from the bucket and worked cautiously as they unwrapped the body that was wrapped in several layers of cloth.
Forensic officials, along with police officers, formed a human barrier to prevent residents from getting to close to the body when it was eventually wrapped in a foil blanket and removed from the scene.
Some community members at the scene expressed their shock.
“That poor child really did not deserve to die in this manner... why did the mother not just give the baby away instead of ending its life,” one woman asked.
“It is a fully-developed baby. I do not understand how one can carry a child full term and then, in the end, kill it. It is an cruel thing to do,” another said.
One woman insisted that the police show the community members the baby so that they can identify it.
“They must show us the baby. Maybe we will be able to tell whose child it is if we can have a look at it. I would not be surprised if the mother is standing amongst us,” one woman said.
Police spokesman, Lieutenant Sergio Kock, said the police are investigating the matter.
“The Roodepan police are investigating a case of concealment of birth. This follows after a newborn baby boy was found in an ally near 19th Street in Homelite. The baby was found inside a red shopping bag at approximately 3pm by two boys who were playing in the vicinity. No arrest has been made yet,” Kock said.
The police requested anyone with information regarding the incident to contact Detective Sergeant Johannes Bosman on 073 416 1305.
Diamond Fields Advertiser