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Actually, this is not necessarily as suspicious as it sounds. For whatever reason, "back in the day", it was not that uncommon to save stillborn fetuses. The article does mention that one appeared premature, and the other supposedly newborn. It follows the typical story - someone goes poking around the cellar/attic, rummaging through old stuff, and finds some mummified fetuses.
It will be nearly impossible to determine at this point if they were born alive. About all they can do is try to figure out who they belonged to, but the mother is mostly likely dead by now, so it's unlikely that they will ever get the full story.
Location: Prescott Valley, Az (unfortunately still here)
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Sounds almost like the old case of Stella Williamson, a lady in Pennsylvania (? I think it was ?), who was a church lady and very admired in her community.
But when she died, they found 3 decomposed/mummified babies wrapped up in old newspapers in a trunk she had in her closet or attic (I don't remember which now).
It was estimated she had them in the 1930's to early 40's, out of wedlock, and didn't want anyone to know about her pregnancies and such.
Actually, this is not necessarily as suspicious as it sounds. For whatever reason, "back in the day", it was not that uncommon to save stillborn fetuses. The article does mention that one appeared premature, and the other supposedly newborn. It follows the typical story - someone goes poking around the cellar/attic, rummaging through old stuff, and finds some mummified fetuses.
It will be nearly impossible to determine at this point if they were born alive. About all they can do is try to figure out who they belonged to, but the mother is mostly likely dead by now, so it's unlikely that they will ever get the full story.
I know. Not understanding why everyone is getting all worked up over this. Most likely these babies were NOT "murdered". I read the story last week in the news and thought the same. Read one appeared to be premature and the other newborn. My thought was that the mom had them and most likely gave birth at home which was VERY common back then. They may have been stillborn or died right after birth. Mom and dad OR just dad OR just mom OR heck even the grandmother of these babies could have been the one that wrapped them in newspaper and put them in the trunk. There is probably no crime at all that was committed in these babies lives and they died naturally either in vitro or after birth.
There could be hundreds of thousands of newborns buried in backyards that were once prarie, farm land, etc that were born and died shortly after or were stillborn that the parents buried wherever they were at the time back in those times. No need to go thinking that the baby was murdered. Babies DO die right after birth or are born stillborn every single day from natural causes and we have great medical care now. Back then they did not have much for NICU or prenatal care.
The facts of this case regarding the cause and manner of death were well documented. These babies were sent to an experienced expert. Ligatures were found around the necks of a couple of the infants and one had a rag stuffed into its mouth. Ages of the infants ranged from a few weeks to up to a year old. This is not a case of miscarriage. While it is not definite that Stella Williamson killed her own children the note she left indicates that she was seeking absolution for what she indicated would be found in the attic.
It was 5 babies. It was in Gallitzin PA, near the horseshoe curve. The babies were from a few weeks old to about a year. Evidence indicates they were strangled/asphixiated. The babies were found upon her death in 1980 (August) and she was not very popular nor respected. Local residents at the time reported that she was a bitter old spinster, who was described as a gossip monger and who would insult passers-by.
When I was a NYC homicide detective I went through the NYC Medical Examiners "museum." Among the stuff there were the mummified remains of several infants, found wrapped in newspapers from many years earlier. I thought the attached card read they came from NJ, but my memory might be off on this, so they may be the same ones under discussion here.
The date of the newspapers doesn't necessarily indicate when those babies were born. The papers could have been 20 years old. Lots of people keep old newspapers around.
Yes I agree with whom ever said just bury them and be done with it . Let it go it was so long ago . RIP dear ones and God bless you and keep you in his loving hands .
.I have read a number of stories like these. In 1930 having an illegitimate baby was worse than death. Mothers would hide the bodies to keep her reputation intact. Then there were mothers that already had children and did not want more. They would kill the unwanted child or children and hide them. I remember one story, a woman died in the apartment she had lived in forever. In her closet were 4 full term mummified babies. Evidently, she had two children who she abused and always said she did not like children.
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Stella Williamson's babies def murdered
