Woman arrested after dead baby found in carrier bag outside London church
A woman as been arrested on suspicion of concealing a birth, neglect and infanticide after a baby boy was found dead outside a Notting Hill Church.
The child was found in a Marks and Spencer’s bag near All Saints Church in Notting Hill.
The infant was declared dead at the scene on Talbot Road in Notting Hill shortly before 1pm.
A woman in her thirties was found by police on Saturday and arrested in connection with the death.
She was immediately taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and still receiving care there.
Medical experts will conduct a forensic post-mortem later this week to assist in investigations into the baby’s death.
Superintendent Owen Renowden, who leads policing for Kensington and Chelsea said: ‘This is an ongoing, fast-paced investigation, with officers working tirelessly to ascertain the circumstances of the baby boy’s death.
‘We believe that the woman is the baby’s mother and I am reassured that she is receiving the support she needs, while officers continue their work to understand what took place.
‘I recognise that the news of this arrest may cause concern among our community, but when dealing with investigations of this nature our priority is to ensure the welfare of all involved and ensure that all lines of enquiry are fully explored.
‘I appreciate the high level of attention that this investigation has received, but we politely ask for the public not to speculate.’
The deputy warden at All Saints’ Church in Notting Hill said she had ‘never heard anything like this in my life.’
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Marcia Haynes told reporters: ‘I came here to prepare for the food bank and I just saw loads of police arriving, and when I came out it was all taped over.’
Marcia added the news a baby had died ‘just freaked me out, and I just I had to abandon what I was doing and go home because I thought I was going to be ill, to be honest’.
‘I’ve been here since 1966, I’ve never heard anything like this in my life.’
Moving tributes were later placed outside the church, including bunches of flowers and a toy bunny.
A note, left under a lit candle, read: ‘God bless the little Baby x’.
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