BRITAIN: Police in Britain are trying to trace the parents of a baby girl whose body was entombed in a concrete block, thought to be around 10 years old.
The baby, believed to have been aged between four and six months, would have led a "distressing and painful" life before she died and her body was concealed, detectives in Cumbria said yesterday. They have given her the name of Lara.
Det Chief Insp Andy Carter said murder had not been ruled out in the investigation, the first of its kind in the UK. Lara's remains were found on September 11th last year in a free-standing block of concrete, dumped among rubbish in a derelict garage in the tiny hamlet of Barepot, near Workington, Cumbria.
A man attempted to move the three-and-a-half stone block, but had to smash it up. The remains were then discovered. A reconstruction of the 12 ins by 9 ins by 7 ins block was on display at Workington police station yesterday as detectives disclosed the distressing short life Lara would have experienced.
Det Chief Insp Clark, who is leading the inquiry, said: "Lara suffered from an abscess in her upper gum, which was left untreated. This type of infection would have caused her extreme pain. Lara would have been extremely distressed. People living close to her would have heard her crying in agony."
Det Chief Insp Clark was unable to say how the baby died but experts believe her death occurred between 1990 and 1992. However, he added: "There's been a concerted effort to attempt to ensure that this child was never, ever found.
"Lara had a miserable existence in her short life and there has been an attempt to conceal the body."
Mr Carter said no family member had been in touch, adding that the investigation was one of the most challenging and difficult he had ever worked on.
Det Insp Paul Smith said that the body and concrete block were possibly disposed of elsewhere before being taken to the garage. There was evidence that the garage was broken into in 1995, he added.
Mr Carter said psychologists have been consulted for a profile on Lara's parents.
"The parents of this child, or parent, may have been themselves distressed and not capable of looking after the baby.
"Or it may be a cruel, calculated person. What the abscess does show, at the very best, is a case of neglect. This would not have been a silent child and the parents would have known something was wrong."