Baby Ava found dead in a field ‘could have been kept in fridge for years before’

A newborn baby who was found dead in a snowy field could have died and been kept in a fridge for two to three years before she was found, it’s been revealed.

The baby girl, named Ava by police, was found by a dog being walked at Ashtons Field in Little Hulton, Greater Manchester, on November 21 of last year.

It’s thought Ava was at 39 weeks gestation and may have been stillborn – and police have been trying to find the baby’s mother ever since.

Now Greater Manchester Police have shared the latest findings of their investigation – including that Ava could have died years before her body was then buried in a 12cm deep grave.

It’s thought a badger, fox, or other wildlife brought her body to the surface before she was found by the dog walker in the snow-covered field last November.

GMP says it’s now certain of the 20-day period during which baby Ava was left in the park.

Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Whalley, who is leading the case, told the MEN: ‘We have got to a point where we have more or less exhausted the various “ologists” working on the case.

‘What they have been able to narrow down – due to things like leaf litter and the soil type – is that Ava was placed, moved, to that site at Ashtons Fields no earlier than the beginning of November.

‘So the time frame for movement to that site is from November 1 to November 20.

‘That does not mean she was born at the beginning of November. She was very decomposed and a forensic pathologist has told us he cannot put a date on which day she was born.

‘What I suspect is that she has been at the Ashtons Fields site and she has been somewhere else beforehand.

‘The level of decomposition indicates she could not have decomposed that quickly from November 1 to November 20. She has been somewhere else first.

‘If she had been wrapped and put in a freezer the expert says it could have been two to three years before when she was born.

‘She could have been kept in a house, in a fridge, there are so may options and that is why a forensic pathologist cannot tell me when she was born.

‘I think there would have been a trigger for the movement of her [to Ashtons Fields]. Something happened – either her family moved or someone else found out.

‘The work the scientists have done has been outstanding. Narrowing down the time when she was left has helped with the analysis of ANPR cameras in the vicinity. There is an ANPR camera just on the other side of the lay-by.’

When baby Ava was first found, it was reported that she had been wrapped in fabric.

Police have now confirmed the fabric was a pair of women’s briefs – and it’s thought the mother could have worn them while pregnant.

The briefs are a size large, and pink with donkeys printed on them. The underwear is not manufactured in the UK, and would have been imported wholesale into the country.

DCI Walley added: ‘They are quite distinctive. My suspicion is that the person was wearing the large knickers because they were pregnant.

‘We do have some DNA profiles from them. We have male profile, but when we have run it against the National Database they don’t ping.

‘They would be good enough for a direct comparison if we found the person, but it is not strong enough for the database to give us an identity.

‘If we ever find a suspect or anyone linked to Ava, we could rule them in or out with that DNA. We are still working on familial DNA as we have Ava’s DNA. We have got mitochondrial DNA – the female part of any DNA.

‘If we find mum, because we have Ava’s DNA, there will be no argument that it is mum.’

Police haven’t been able to establish Ava’s heritage, due to the decomposition of her body. She had very dark hair, but it was not possible to tell the colour of her skin.

The investigation is continuing, as police work through a list of people who are on a familial DNA list created from Ava’s DNA.

They are also cross-referencing the car registration numbers of every vehicle which parked in the car park close to where Ava’s body was found between November 1 and 20, which is when she was thought to have been dumped.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, through GMP’s Major Incident Portal, or via Crimestoppers anonymously at 0800 555111.

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