Garda investigation underway after infant skeletal remains found in Cork

Kenneth Fox

Gardaí say they are following a definite line of enquiry following the discovery of the skeletal remains of a baby in East Cork.

They are remaining tightlipped on the specific circumstances which led to the grim discovery of the baby's bones and on the specific nature of their investigation.

No public appeals for information or for witnesses to come forward have been made.

But it is understood that a criminal investigation is underway, with a garda spokesman confirming that detectives are following “a definite line of enquiry”.

The Irish Examiner has confirmed that the location of the bones was identified following the receipt by gardaí of confidential information in recent days.

The remains had been buried in an area of open ground in the general Killeagh area, located midway between Midleton and Youghal, in East Cork.

The remains were unearthed last Friday and were examined in situ by forensic experts before they were then carefully removed to the Cork City Morgue for a postmortem examination and further expert analysis.

The assistance of a forensic anthropologist has been sought. Forensic anthropologists are experts in the analysis of hard tissues, such as bones, and in the analysis and interpretation of the circumstances in which they were found or recovered.

They can often tell from the bones alone how a person died, how old they were when they died, and how long ago they died.

A postmortem examination on the remains is scheduled to take place over the coming days.

The outcome of that examination, combined with the analysis of the forensic anthropologist, will direct the course of the garda investigation.