Detectives are exploring new lines of inquiry into the death of a newborn found three decades ago after releasing an e-fit of a mystery woman spotted at her grave. The computer-generated image was shared to refresh the case of 'Baby April', who was found dead at Singleton Lake in Ashford, Kent, on April 3, 1995.
Officers believe the infant, discovered in a Kleenex tissue bag, died of asphyxiation, but neither her name nor any of her parents or relatives were ever identified. A suspect arrested in the initial weeks of the investigation was released without charge. In 2011, police exhumed April's body at Bybrook Cemetery to gain a full DNA profile, but no breakthrough followed.
Woman seen at grave
In a bid to resuscitate the investigation, police said a woman had been seen looking distressed while at April's grave on the afternoon of June 21 this year. She is described as white, in her 40s, no taller than 5ft 7in, medium to slim build, with a pale complexion, and was wearing a grey short cardigan, trainers, and black leggings. The woman was seen carrying two bags: a small shoulder bag and a full-looking fabric holdall with a floral pattern worn across her body.
E-fit appeal generates leads
DCI Neil Kimber, who is leading the probe, said the e-fit appeal had generated four leads that looked 'promising'. 'The answers to this investigation are overdue but I am optimistic about the inquiries that we have got from that last appeal,' he said. 'I didn't expect to get as much as we did. The public are fantastic; they are all so willing to help.'
'As a direct result of the e-fit we quite quickly got a lot of information that started to come into the incident room. That led to us having probably in excess of 25 lines of inquiry to follow up on. Three or four of them I would say look reasonably promising.'
Investigation continues
He said the lack of leads during the long investigation had been 'really frustrating' but that investigators were 'absolutely determined to get the answers'. 'We're not going to let it go,' he said. 'There has been a huge amount of work done on this. There are over 180 statements that have been taken in this inquiry and in excess of 80 DNA samples. There is a lot of mystery around it. We don't know Baby April's name or who the mother or father is. There are some intriguing questions that need answering.'
DCI Kimber, who joined the investigation last year, called for more people to come forward with information on the case. 'The public really need the answers to this as well because there is a lot of interest in it in the community in Ashford and in the wider country,' he said. 'This is quite an emotional case and people are really coming forward to help us with it which I am so grateful for. We have a number of lines of inquiry and they could be really key or it could be back to the drawing board.'
