Mystery surrounds death of baby found at recycling plant during first lockdown

Questions surrounding the death of a baby girl found at a waste recycling plant during the first national lockdown remain unanswered following an inquest. The unidentified infant was born alive but a pathologist was unable to determine the cause of death, the inquest heard.

The baby girl, known only as Baby S, was found on a conveyor belt on a waste processing line in a yard at Sackers in Needham Market, Suffolk, after a delivery of waste from commercial bins on May 14 in 2020. The inquest heard that her injuries could have been caused by a traumatic birth, shaking or smothering, but could not determine which.

Suffolk’s senior coroner Nigel Parsley, recording an open conclusion, said: “We simply cannot say exactly how Baby S came by her death and how she received the injuries which led to her death.”

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He said an initial post-mortem examination could not determine a cause of death, so the baby’s brain and spinal column were sent to a consultant neuropathologist. Her cause of death was then recorded as due to a traumatic brain injury, with the cause of this unascertained.

Mr Parsley told Tuesday’s hearing in Ipswich that the post-mortem examination recorded features “compatible with a live birth” such as “well-inflated lungs, indicating active breathing”. She was recorded to be dark-skinned, possibly of African descent, and to have been born full-term with no evidence of underlying disease.

Detective Chief Inspector Karl Nightingale, the senior investigating officer, agreed with Mr Parsley that Baby S was “definitely born alive” and was no more than 24 hours old. Baby S had “numerous severe injuries”, a pathologist’s