An inquest revealed that a baby skeleton, possibly a boy born around 1726, was discovered with twine around its neck in an upstairs flat. The mystery deepened as the infant was found wrapped in a newspaper from 1910. DNA profiling confirmed the remains as male, found under the floorboards in Bishop Auckland in July 2024.
The County Durham and Darlington Coroner’s Court officially opened an inquest into the baby’s death, presided over by Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield. Despite being born full term, it remains unclear whether the baby was stillborn or died under suspicious circumstances. The skeleton was found with twine looped around its neck, wrapped in a newspaper dated June 1910.
The newspaper, ‘The Umpire,’ founded in Manchester in 1884, contained news of King Edward VII’s death, leading to a constitutional crisis. Carbon dating and DNA testing indicated the baby lived between 1726 and 1812, predating the first atomic bomb tests in 1945.
A post-mortem conducted at the Royal Victoria Infirmary identified the cause of death as ‘unascertained’ for the 38 to 40-week full-term male foetus. Durham authorities are arranging a burial at Bishop Auckland Town Cemetery. The inquest has been adjourned until May 18.
Following the discovery, police and CSI teams investigated the Bishop Auckland property, previously a church-run mother-and-baby unit, raising suspicions about the circumstances of the baby’s death. It is believed the baby was concealed before the unit’s operation.