A memorial service was held for a newborn baby girl who was discovered dead at a recycling dump close to Ipswich, with police appealing for her mother to come forward. During an emotional graveside ceremony, the unidentified infant, known only as ‘Baby S,’ was contrasted to a ‘rosebud’ that was not allowed the opportunity to sprout as she was let go in a little white final resting place during a moving graveside function. A gathering of 15 mourners gathered to say their final goodbyes to her, including police, municipal officials, and six employees from the recycling company where she was discovered.
A few wiped away tears as her casket was conveyed to her grave with a solitary white rose on top in the youngsters’ part of the Millennium Cemetery in Ipswich, Suffolk. Child S was found during the main lockdown on May 14, 2020, by staff arranging waste at the Sackers reusing terminal in Needham Market. Police suspects she was unloaded in a container at one of 52 business destinations in the Ipswich region where two sackers vehicles had gathered up rubbish and transported it to the centre earlier in the day. In their search for answers, officers watched more than 11,000 hours of CCTV footage and visited 800 residences and businesses, but they were unable to identify her parents.
A post mortem by a Home Office pathologist was unable to determine how she died, however she was under 48 hours old at the time of death. Police concede they have no idea if she was alive or dead when she was thrown away. Celebrant Patrick Eade talked movingly adjacent to her grave, saying: ‘Baby S, you will never be forgotten. May the radiance of love sparkle upon you, and on the individuals who care for you, and may you arrive at your destination in peace and joy. Your memory lives on in our hearts, and you will live on as long as we remember you.’ We lay you to rest with love and respect. ‘Go about your business in peace.’
‘The world may never notice if a rosebud doesn’t bloom, or even pause to ponder if the petals fall too soon,’ he began a poem. ‘However, every life that ever forms, or ever comes to be, for all eternity, influences the planet in some small manner.’
Earlier, at a private memorial service, Mr Eade spoke about the baby’s unknown family, saying she died “under the most awful circumstances.”
‘It’s tough to imagine what Baby S’s family is going through,’ he said. Moving on is leaving something behind, forgetting about it, and never looking back. To ‘keep going’ is to carry it with you for the rest of your life and never forget it. A bereaved parent will never be able to move on, but they must “go on.” He continued saying that ‘please tell him how he could help’ hoping the message might reach the family of baby S.
‘Each of you have played a part in ‘doing the right thing,’ as you sought to fit the pieces of this awful jigsaw together and ensure that Baby S will be laid to rest in a dignified manner, never forgotten, and extend help to those in need,’ Mr Eade said of the police and Sackers personnel.
‘We will think of you often as the days pass, wondering why your life was not intended to last,’ he wrote. How can this be, and why?’ is a question we all ask of an imagined sky.
Israel Kamakawiwo’ole performed ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ and The Beatles’ ‘The Long and Winding Road’ at the occasion.
At the burial, Suffolk Police Detective Inspector Karl Nightingale appealed to her parents or anyone with information to come forward. He stated that they have placed this newborn girl to rest. Known only as Baby S they are still trying to figure out what happened to her before she was discovered on May 14,2020. They will always be curious about what led to her being thrown away. Time has passed, yet nobody knows what happened to the little kid.
In his words,”People’s lives have changed in nearly two years. Although only a few people are aware of the truth about her experience, someone must. Now is the time to come forward and tell us about her brief life, as well as give this beautiful newborn girl her appropriate name.”
Sackers CEO David Dodds, who attended the service with some of his employees, agreed to purchase a monument for her burial. He explained, “We just wanted to pay our respects and see her in her final resting place. I can’t express how distressing it was for the staff members who discovered her dead.’ It has had a significant impact on the employees. We’re all worried about her mother. We want her to have the assistance she requires.”
May the beautiful baby rest in peace. Thank you to all the wonderful people who gave this soul a dignified funeral.
