An inquest heard that a family found the skeletal remains of a baby boy concealed in a suitcase while they were clearing out their loft.
The unnamed baby was discovered in the attic of a semi-detached property on Berwick Avenue in Heaton Mersey, Stockport on March 6 last year.
A police investigation, including DNA analysis of the remains, failed to establish the exact time of death but did reveal that it could have occurred as long ago as 1959.
Details of the grim discovery emerged after an inquest was formally opened into the death at Stockport Coroners’ Court on Wednesday morning.
Police coroners’ officer Claire Smith told senior coroner Alison Mutch the identity of the baby hadn’t yet been established, although DNA analysis of the skeletal remains had revealed they belonged to a male infant.
The coroners’ office also agreed that the time of death was unascertained, broadly speaking.
The hearing was told ‘mitochondrial DNA testing’ had been carried out, but that they didn’t think that provided a link to the family that resided there, said Ms Mutch and the coroners’ officer agreed.
The hearing was told that a Home Office pathologist had carried out a post-mortem examination, but they were unable to provide a cause of death.
Ms Mutch said that she thought the family were clearing the address and they found a suitcase within the property in one of the rooms. When they opened it these remains were found in it, and police coroners’s officer Smith said that was correct.
Ms Mutch said it appeared the remains were quite old, and that the range was thought probably dating back to 1959, and Ms Smith agreed.
The hearing was told a police investigation was ongoing. After formally opening the inquest proceedings, the coroner adjourned the case for another hearing on September 26.
Residents in Berwick Avenue expressed their surprise following the hearing. One person said police descended on the property in March last year.
The resident said that the police were there for a few days.
The resident said that the last they heard was that it was a false alarm and that it was just a bundle of newspapers that were found. Obviously, that’s wrong.
Greater Manchester Police said at the time of the discovery, shortly after 11.30 am (6 March 2022), they were called to a report of remains found at an address on Berwick Avenue in Stockport.
They said that the remains were believed to be historical and there was no evidence to suggest that the find links to any other ongoing investigation and that enquiries were ongoing.
Surely somebody must have emptied out the attic space over the 65 years that the body had been there. However, we don’t even know how many owners the house has seen. Perhaps the previous occupants died and left the body there, or anyone who had been living there.
People put things in their loft and just forget about it, although I would guess it wouldn’t be too difficult to forget that you left a dead baby in a suitcase in your attic, and considering the nature of the contents in the suitcase it would have probably been well concealed.
Whatever or however it happened I’m sure there’s an extremely heartbreaking story behind this, and perhaps someone out there knows the truth.
The houses in Berwick Avenue only look like they were built in the late 1970s or 1980s, so perhaps the suitcase was brought to the house by the previous owners.
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