DNA search for mother of murdered baby begins

A mass DNA screening of up to 600 women is to begin on Monday in the search for the mother of a murdered newborn baby.

Women between the ages of 13 and 45, who are not currently pregnant, are set to be screened - starting from Monday - as part of a police investigation to try to match the baby’s genetic make-up or DNA.

The baby girl, named Carrie by the police, was discovered in a black bin bag by two schoolchildren in a country laneway at the rear of the Lough Moss Centre, Carryduff on March 26.

Detectives investigating her murder said the baby girl suffered a horrendous death. She had suffered head injuries and stab wounds and may have been dead for several weeks.

Last week, it emerged that the body had been buried elsewhere before being moved to the undergrowth where it was found.

The test will be carried out in the privacy of the volunteer’s home and entails taking a tissue sample from inside the mouth, by wiping with a cotton bud.

The tests will be voluntary and police have pledged to destroy all the DNA records.

Police said they believed women in the Carryduff area would be prepared to assist the inquiry but they also urged the baby's mother to come forward.

Police officers will be asking Carryduff women to participate in the screening in four phases: phase 1 Lough Moss area; phase 2 Thompson’s Grange; phase 3 Muskett area and phase 4 Killynure area.

(AMcE)