Mum of newborn baby found dead in toilet cubicle 24 years ago charged over death
Police have arrested a woman more than 20 years after they suspect she murdered her newborn baby and left it in a caravan park toilet cubicle.
Officers arrested a 38-year-old woman in Victoria on Tuesday and charged her in relation to the death of a child in Kambalda, a small mining town in WA’s central south.
Cold Case Homicide Squad detectives travelled from Western Australia to make the arrest, 24 years after the baby was found at a caravan park hours after being born.
WA Police said the woman, who was just 14 at the time of the alleged incident, would face one count of wilful murder in relation to her baby’s 1995 death.
The age of the woman at the time and the conception of the child would form part of an ongoing investigation, according to police.
“Given the age of the woman at the time of the child’s birth, an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the conception of the child has been commenced, and is ongoing,” a statement read.
She was due to be extradited from Victoria to face Perth Children’s Court on Thursday.
According to WA Today, a cleaner working at the Kambalda Caravan Park at the time discovered the deceased baby face-down in a toilet.
Proprietor of the caravan park Paul McGeever told the Kalgoorlie Miner at the time the child was found with only his back showing and the bathroom was covered in blood.
The infant had been suffocated to death and wrapped in toilet paper before being placed in the toilet, a post-mortem exam showed.
Unsuccessful searches for the mother saw the case abandoned due to a lack of leads.
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