By Three Portsmouth women arrested over conspiring to murder newborn
Three Portsmouth women, 39, 21, and 20, have been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to murder a newborn baby girl, after the infant was found dead in a Portsmouth street.
All three were arrested this morning.
It comes after the newborn baby was found at the corner of Victoria Street and Old Commercial Road, in Buckland, at 6.18am on January 25.
All three women are now in police custody. Police said the women were arrested in the city.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Baker said:
“We know that this case was upsetting for a lot of people within the community and we want to reassure you that our officers are trained to deal with sensitive investigations such as this, which can often be very complex, and will do what is needed to get the right outcome for all those involved.
“While we know that many of you will have questions, we hope you will understand that we are not in a position to provide any further details while this investigation continues to progress. When we are in a position where we can update further, we will.
“Our officers will be conducting enquiries in the city today, so if you have any concerns or information that could help, please speak to them.”
Within a month of the investigation starting, officers for Hampshire Constabulary had visited over 800 homes.
Five people wanted early on after being spotted on CCTV between 5am and 6.18am were ruled out as passers-by, and the results of the post mortem were inconclusive.
Officers issued an appeal to the child’s mother, asking her to seek help. No after-birth was found at the site, and it is not yet known whether the mother is directly involved in the incident.
The investigation is ongoing, but has resulted in the arrests of three women from Portsmouth; it is not yet known whether they have been charged with conspiring to murder the newborn.
If anyone has information about this case, you can still get in touch, either by calling 101, quoting 44200030626, or you can submit information through the online portal by going to https://mipp.police.uk/operation/44HC20E02-PO1.
Alternatively you can call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Contact Gi Portsmouth
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