DNA Shows Baby Elsa Is Third Baby Newhan Parents Abandoned

Earlier this year in Newham, east London, a newborn baby was found abandoned, marking the third child deserted by the same parents.

Baby Elsa Is the Third Child Abandoned by Newham Parents

DNA tests submitted to the East London Family Court confirmed that "Baby Elsa" is the sibling of two other babies, a boy, and a girl, found in similar circumstances in 2017 and 2019.

Despite the Metropolitan Police's appeals, the parents have not been identified.

The court granted the BBC and PA Media special permission to report on the sibling connection and disclose that the children are black. Judge Carol Atkinson emphasized the story's "great public interest" due to the rarity of baby abandonment in modern Britain.

An expert informed the court that the genetic evidence strongly supported the conclusion that Baby Elsa is a full sibling of the other two children. The older children have been adopted, while Baby Elsa remains in foster care.

Baby Elsa was discovered by a dog walker in January during the coldest night of the year, wrapped in a towel inside a bag. The other babies, named Harry and Roman, had also been abandoned at birth in the same area of London, wrapped in blankets, with one also placed in a bag.

Court documents revealed Baby Elsa still had her umbilical cord and doctors estimated she had been born only an hour before being found. Although extremely cold, Elsa was crying and responsive when discovered. The court has since heard she is doing well.

Three Babies Abandoned in Newham, East London Are Siblings

The Family Court stated that the children, whose names have been changed, will be informed of their full sibling relationship and plans are in place for them to have contact as they grow up.

The local authority and England's Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) opposed reporting the sibling link, which advises courts about children's best interests.

The Met Police stated that the court should decide on reporting the connection but expressed concerns about inadvertently encouraging struggling mothers to abandon their babies in public spaces.

The East London Family Court is part of a transparency pilot, extended to nearly half the family courts in England and Wales, making it easier for journalists to report on cases.

The BBC and PA Media contended that public interest warranted reporting that the three children were abandoned by the same parents at birth.

Judge Carol Atkinson, the senior judge in the East London Family Court, agreed, noting the rarity of baby abandonment in the country and the significant public interest in such cases. She emphasized that the revelation of the sibling relationship is of great interest to society and that refusing to report it would affect public awareness and open justice.

The BBC and PA argued that further reporting could help authorities locate the children's parents and bring attention back to the mother.

Data from the ONS shows very few babies recorded as abandoned at birth in England and Wales, with none registered as abandoned for three years up to 2015 and just one in 2011. However, academic researchers estimate about 16 abandoned babies per year from 1998-2005.

Press reports noted abandoned babies in Hackney, east London, in 2020, and Birmingham in 2021, with their mothers eventually traced months later.