Portsmouth baby death: Police believe infant who died in city was not born in hospital

Yesterday a Home Office post-mortem examination was carried out on the recently-born baby girl who was found on Saturday morning.

She was found at the junction of Victoria Street and Old Commercial Road, by a resident at 6.18am.

Police are set to carry out further investigations into the infant’s death after initial examinations proved ‘inconclusive’.

Officers are still continuing in their effort to find the baby’s mother to ensure she gets the help she needs.

In a statement released today, Inspector Louise Tester said: ‘This is an incredibly complex investigation with many different aspects to it but the welfare of the mum still remains our number one priority.

‘We have a dedicated team from across the force working hard on this and we want to make sure that mum is getting the medical help and emotional support she needs.

‘We are doing a lot of work around CCTV in and around the Buckland estate and our officers are busy speaking to residents and businesses as part of our house-to-house enquiries.

‘The results of the post-mortem examination has helped to focus our enquiries and we hope that by sharing some of these details, it will help people realise they do have some relevant information that could help us.

‘We are now able to confirm that the baby was white and that she was born at around 39 weeks, which is full-term.

‘Our enquiries have also led us to believe that the baby was not born in a hospital environment, making it even more vital that we find mum and get her the medical care she may not have received.

‘Hopefully these details might help people realise their concerns about a loved one, friend or neighbour could be significant and encourages them to get in touch with us.

‘This will be a deeply distressing time for mum and while physically she may feel OK, the after effects of birth can be far-reaching and symptoms may only start to appear days later.’

Anyone with information can call 101, quoting Operation Cravat or the reference number 44200030626.

People can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously on 0800 555 111 or submit information to police online at https://mipp.police.uk/operation/44HC20E02-PO1.