Police launch poster appeal over Baby Carrie murder

Police searching for the mother of a newborn baby found dead in Co Down in March have launched a poster appeal today.

The poster, which has an artist's impression of the child dubbed 'Baby Carrie' by officers investigating the case, has been published after a DNA screening campaign of women in the area failed to find the baby's mother.

The poster reads: "Carrie died in what must have been the most distressing circumstances for his mum and her family. We are worried that Carrie's mum may still be in great distress or even danger and in urgent need of support, care and protection, so please ring us."

Baby Carrie was found by a boy and a girl aged 10 and 11 who were playing at the rear of Lough Moss leisure centre in Carryduff on March 26. The body was wrapped in a black bin bag and it is thought that it had been placed there two or three weeks previously. Police also believe that the body had been buried at another site before being moved to the leisure centre.

A postmortem revealed that the baby had received 11 stab wounds and serious head injuries. At the time police said they were "extremely concerned" about the welfare of the infant's mother who may have needed urgent medical attention.

As part of their efforts to trace the baby’s mother, detectives launched a voluntary campaign to DNA screen around 600 women in the Carryduff area between the ages of 13 and 45. Police said there had been a take-up rate of over 90% so far.

Detective Chief Inspector Roy McComb said that police required as many women as possible to be screened to gain the maximum success from mass screening.

For those who took part in the screening, written confirmation was sent confirming that the DNA sample had been destroyed.

The funeral for baby Carrie will be held on Thursday August 29 at an interdenominational service in east Belfast.

(GMcG)