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Baby girl found in east London is third dumped newborn from same parents

04 June 2024 , 09:59
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Baby Elsa was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in East London (Image: Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star)
Baby Elsa was found at the junction of Greenway and High Street South in East London (Image: Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star)

An abandoned baby who was found in a shopping bag in the freezing cold earlier this year belongs to the same parents as two other newborns who were dumped in London, DNA testing has revealed.

Judge Carol Atkinson confirmed that the infant, who was later named Baby Elsa, has two siblings who were also discovered alone in 2017 and 2019. The children were found over a period of seven years and were found just miles apart. The other infant, Roman, was also found in a shopping bag, whilst the first baby, nicknamed Harry, was found wrapped in a blanket.

Despite the development, their parents are yet to be identified which has prompted an updated appeal from the Metropolitan Police. The force has urged anyone with information to come forward. The update was announced at East London Family Court on Monday, when the judge confirmed the news could be published. Below we have highlighted the case of each sibling who were all found in similar conditions.

Baby girl found in east London is third dumped newborn from same parents eidekiqtiqrtprwChief Superintendent Simon Crick has appealed for information (PA)

Baby Elsa

Baby Elsa was found in freezing temperatures in East Ham on the night of January 18 this year. It is believed she was less than an hour old when she was found by a dog walker, wrapped in a towel in a reusable shopping bag with her umbilical cord still attached.

She was discovered at the junction of Greenway and High Street South, and was named Elsa by hospital staff who cared for her, in reference to the freezing temperatures in which she was found and the character from the film Frozen. The Metropolitan Police said at the time it was “highly likely” that Elsa was born after a “concealed pregnancy”. The woman who left Elsa was spotted entering the Greenway from the High Street South entrance at around 8.45pm on the night of January 18, around half an hour before she was found.

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Appealing for her mother to come forward in January, Chief Superintendent Simon Crick, lead for policing in Newham, urged anyone with information to urgently get in touch. The BBC reported that a previous court hearing was told it took doctors three hours to record Elsa’s temperature due to the cold, with the Met Office confirming temperatures dropped as low as minus 4C on the night.

Barristers for Newham London Borough Council told the court in April that due to ongoing investigation into the identity of her parents, no final decision on her care could be made, with a future hearing expected at a later date.

Baby Roman

Baby girl found in east London is third dumped newborn from same parentsBaby Roman was found five years before Elsa (SWNS.COM)

Baby Roman was also found in freezing temperatures just under five years earlier. Police were called to a park area close to Roman Road and Saxon Road in East Ham at around 10.15pm on January 30 2019.

The force said at the time that the baby was found wrapped in a white towel which was put in a shopping bag and then placed on the ground next to a bench in the small children’s playpark. No attempt had been made to hide her. She was found by a dog walker, Rima Zvaliauskas, who told the BBC in 2019 that she was “shocked and stressed” by the discovery after hearing a noise coming from a bag.

Roman, which is not her real name, has since been adopted.

Baby Harry

Baby girl found in east London is third dumped newborn from same parentsBaby Harry was found in a blanket (PA)

Baby Harry was found wrapped in a white blanket and abandoned in a park on September 17 2017. The boy, named Harry by medical staff, was discovered in an area off Balaam Street in Plaistow, east London. Harry was cared for at a hospital before being discharged and has since been adopted.

Monica Charsley

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