Identified! MO - St Louis, WhtMale Infant, UP60144, mummified in freezer in residence, disposable diaper, Winnie the Pooh onesie, wrapped in pink blanket, Jul'19

[doublestop]

Adam Smith's mom kept a mysterious box in their freezer throughout his life. When she died recently, and he cleaned out her apartment, he finally opened the box....to find a mummified baby.

Cleaning out mother's St. Louis apartment, man finds baby's remains in freezer

 

[luvhockey]

I feel so sad for this man.

 

[YaYa_521]

Rest in peace, little pooh.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

NamUs #UP60144
NamUs Case Created September 17, 2019
ME/C Case Number CITY-2019-1645

Male, White / Caucasian
Date Body Found July 28, 2019
Estimated Year of Death--
Estimated PMI--
Inventory of Remains--
Condition of Remains Not recognizable - Mummified
Location Found St. Louis, Missouri
Estimated Age Range--
Height 1' 9"(21 inches) , Measured
Weight 3 lbs, Measured
Hair Color Sandy
Eye Color Unknown
Clothing - Wearing disposable diaper and Winnie the Pooh onesie. Infant wrapped in pink blanket. - On the Body

Circumstances of Recovery - Infant remains were discovered inside a freezer at a St. Louis City residence 7/28/2019.

 

[subaw0067]

More info sounds like mom was the woman who passed.

 

[PromotedPawn]

More info sounds like mom was the woman who passed.

Wow, so she just kept the baby in the freezer. Interesting.

 

[Laughing]

The art style & seller of the Winnie the Pooh onesie could help bracket the years. Google tells me that Sears had exclusive rights to Pooh items from 1965 into the '90's.

Was this a Sears onesie? Is the tag even readable?

RIP, little one!



We have a thread from 2019 when the remains were discovered:

MO - St. Louis: Man finds mummified baby in mom's freezer, July 2019

Adam Smith's mom kept a mysterious box in their freezer throughout his life. When she died recently, and he cleaned out her apartment, he finally opened the box....to find a mummified baby. Cleaning out mother's St. Louis apartment, man finds baby's remains in freezer

www.websleuths.com

(Reporting to ask if threads should be combined somehow. Our Mods are terrific!!!)

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Susikatze]

Likely a stillborn she didnt have the strength and heart to report and have it officially buried.
I see that. In the 1960s and beyond, stillborns were buried in unknown sections of the cemeteries and the parents were never told the location. I dont think that baby was killed. It was lovingly dressed. Disposeable diaper means 1970s and later.
Putting it in the freezer is creepy and sad but probably the only way that bereaved mother was able to cope with the babys death.
Shocking though for the adult sibling to find it.

 

[Goecke]

I feel like the diaper and onesie indicate that the baby was born alive... It just seems weird to me to dress a stillborn infant. The 3lb weight was measured, and these are mummified remains, so the baby was probably heavier when he died.

I wonder why this case is in NamUs? Have they not confirmed that this is the child of the woman who died? Can they not get DNA from the sibling that found the body?

 

[subaw0067]

Likely a stillborn she didnt have the strength and heart to report and have it officially buried.
I see that. In the 1960s and beyond, stillborns were buried in unknown sections of the cemeteries and the parents were never told the location. I dont think that baby was killed. It was lovingly dressed. Disposeable diaper means 1970s and later.
Putting it in the freezer is creepy and sad but probably the only way that bereaved mother was able to cope with the babys death.
Shocking though for the adult sibling to find it.

I see this being the most likely scenario

 

[Laughing]

I feel like the diaper and onesie indicate that the baby was born alive... It just seems weird to me to dress a stillborn infant. The 3lb weight was measured, and these are mummified remains, so the baby was probably heavier when he died.

I wonder why this case is in NamUs? Have they not confirmed that this is the child of the woman who died? Can they not get DNA from the sibling that found the body?

But, the mother was anticipating a baby -- not fetal demise. With diapers & onesies ready, I can certainly see the bereaved mother dressing her tiny infant.

(My miscarriage was way too early for that.)

Absolutely agree about the DNA -- but perhaps the freezing & dehydration is an obstacle? Or, the local policies? Didn't it take a long time to arrange for LE to request a commercial companies help with the decapitatied child's remains? (Hate to type that, wow.)

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[Goecke]

I'm not a parent nor have experience with pregnancy loss, so I'll take your word for it. I can definitely see where you're coming from.
Is 21 inches an appropriate size for a newborn? I'm leaning towards either a stillbirth or a slightly older baby who died somehow. I don't think the mother gave birth to a living baby, killed him immediately, and then dressed him and put him in the freezer.

Also, the first article mentions that the mother had the box for about 40 years. Not sure how old the man who found the body is, but he has a 45-year-old sister. The mother also had a set of twins that she never told the surviving kids about- One was stillborn and the other was given up for adoption. It sounds like the stillborn twin was a girl though, and not the baby they found.

 

[Laughing]

21 inches is not an unusual length for a newborn in North America:

Newborn Measurements - Health Encyclopedia - University of Rochester Medical Center

www.urmc.rochester.edu

 

[bettyboop]

After His Mother Died,Adam Smith Found The Secret In The Freezer
www.riverfronttimes.com I am having trouble linking Hope this works.
edit to add go to URL and enter the title in search bar , hopefully it works Maybe someone can do a better link?

 

[YaYa_521]

After His Mother Died,Adam Smith Found The Secret In The Freezer
www.riverfronttimes.com I am having trouble linking Hope this works.
edit to add go to URL and enter the title in search bar , hopefully it works Maybe someone can do a better link?

Hopefully these links work.

After His Mother Died, Adam Smith Found The Secret in the Freezer
Sep 25, 2019

Brother of Murder Victim Calls City's Handling of Case 'Mind Boggling'
May 18, 2022

 

[dotr]

IDENTIFIED!

St. Louis Baby Doe (2019) is now Identified

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Teams with Othram to Identify 2019 Baby Doe

dnasolves.com

''In July 2019, the remains of an unidentified infant, less than a year old, were discovered inside a residence in the 6000 block of Magnolia Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri. Detectives from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department's Child Abuse and Homicide Units responded to the call and found a male infant who had been wrapped in a blanket, placed into a cardboard box, and stored inside of the home's freezer. A preliminary analysis led investigators to believe that the clothing worn by the deceased infant were made in the mid to late 1960s. The infant had likely spent decades in the freezer before being discovered. Little information was available to investigators to aid in identifying the infant as well as the circumstances surrounding the infant's death. The infant's cause of death could not be determined conclusively.

In March 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department teamed with Othram to leverage advanced DNA testing to help generate new leads that could identify the unknown male infant and his family. Forensic evidence from the infant was submitted to Othram's laboratory in The Woodlands, Texas. Using Forensic-Grade Genome Sequencing®, Othram scientists developed a comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown infant.

During the course of the investigation, a concerned citizen contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department with information about potential relatives of the infant. Investigators worked with the candidate relatives to obtain reference DNA samples that could be used to determine if, in fact, they were related to the unidentified infant. The comprehensive DNA profile for the unknown infant was compared with the DNA profiles of two candidate family members and this testing along with a follow up investigation by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Detectives, confirmed familial relationship between the two candidate family members and the infant. While investigators could not find evidence that the infant was legally named, investigators were able to establish that the infant was a half-brother to both candidate family members.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department extends their thanks to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Lab, the St. Louis Medical Examiner’s Office, and Othram for their dedication and efforts through the course of this investigation. Additionally, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and Othram gratefully acknowledge Audiochuck, an Indianapolis-based media company that develops true crime content, for funding the costs associated with advanced DNA testing in this case.''

 

[doublestop]

So, was it Adam and his sister who were determined to be the baby's half-siblings? I assume so but they don't say that.

 

[Teignmouth 22]

Poor little lad. R.I.P.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

In the 1960s and beyond, stillborns were buried in unknown sections of the cemeteries and the parents were never told the location

I'm struggling to understand why stillborn babies and their families were treated so terribly, even generations ago. Why would families not be allowed to know the location in the event they wished to visit the grave of their infant?

While I believe there was a time many parents were falsely told their babies had passed so the babies could be sold, that doesn't align with all babies who didn't survive being buried in a secret location. IMO.

It's so sad how little was known back then about trauma, grieving, etc. What a tragic secret this poor woman felt she needed to keep.

 

[Puzzleworth]

I'm struggling to understand why stillborn babies and their families were treated so terribly, even generations ago. Why would families not be allowed to know the location in the event they wished to visit the grave of their infant?

While I believe there was a time many parents were falsely told their babies had passed so the babies could be sold, that doesn't align with all babies who didn't survive being buried in a secret location. IMO.

It's so sad how little was known back then about trauma, grieving, etc. What a tragic secret this poor woman felt she needed to keep.

I think the reasoning was that the parents supposedly wouldn't grieve as much if they didn't have a reminder of the baby's death.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

I think the reasoning was that the parents supposedly wouldn't grieve as much if they didn't have a reminder of the baby's death.

But it should have always been the parents' decision to make. I don't understand how anyone could have thought the decision should be made for them.

After all, if we need a place to grieve the loss of an older baby/child/person, then we need it for our newborn. (Not arguing with you at all, just saying it's unbelievable to me how things were - and sometimes still are. Change in society and thinking happens too slowly at times.)