Buckland baby murder probe: Two women face no action over Portsmouth girl's death

Detectives investigating the infant’s alleged murder arrested three women in May last year and searched a property in All Saints Road, Buckland.

The home was just a few minutes’ walk from where the child was found dead at the corner of Victoria Street and Old Commercial Road.

Now Hampshire police has confirmed two of the women, 22 and 39 from Portsmouth, have been told they will not face any action.

A third woman, 21 and also from Portsmouth, also arrested on suspicion of conspiring to murder, remains under investigation by the force’s major crime team detectives.

A sniffer dog and police were involved in the search of a terraced property on May 12, with officers seen removing mattresses from the home.

Police previously said the infant was found near a yellow Primark towel at 6.18am on January 25, just near Charles Dickens’ birthplace.

By February officers had visited 800 homes in the ‘complex investigation’ and appealed to the public for help.

Specialists from the National Crime Agency were also drafted in to help with geographical profiling, a technique used to try and narrow down where a person may live.

A Hampshire police spokeswoman told The News: ‘Two women, aged 22 and 39, from Portsmouth arrested following the death of a baby girl who was found in the city earlier this year have been released without charge and will face no further action.

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A third woman from Portsmouth, aged 21, arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to murder, has been released from custody but remains under investigation while our enquiries continue.

‘The arrests followed the discovery of the baby’s body at the junction of Victoria Street and Old Commercial Road on the morning of January 25.

‘As we are sure people will appreciate, this is a complex investigation and our work continues to ensure all is done to get the right outcome for all those involved.’

A postmortem proved inconclusive but the infant was not born in hospital, police previously said.

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting 44200030626.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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