Mystery infant death: Items seized from Adelaide motel room as police investigation continues
Officers have described the death as ‘unexplained’ as two people remain before the courts.
Major Crime detectives have returned to the Adelaide motel where a baby boy was found dead, seizing cash, clothing and other items as they continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding his death.
Police were back at the Tollgate Motel in Glen Osmond on Friday, searching and cataloguing items of interest from the room where the six-month-old infant was discovered.
The latest development comes days after two people were charged over the boy’s death.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Emergency services were called for a welfare check at the motel, where police and paramedics found the deceased infant about 9am on October 10.
The death was initially treated as unexplained, with crime scene investigators and Eastern District detectives launching an investigation.
On Tuesday, police confirmed 40-year-old Benjamin Nicholas Houghton and Yue Ning Lieu, 42, had been arrested and charged with criminal neglect and concealing human remains.
The pair, who are believed to have been staying at the Glen Osmond motel since arriving in South Australia from Queensland earlier this year, appeared in a bedside court hearing and were remanded in custody until May.
Neither applied for bail.
It is understood the infant’s body may have remained in the motel room for up to a month before it was discovered.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens previously said a post-mortem examination had been completed, with investigators continuing to work through the circumstances surrounding the child’s death.
“This is a very sensitive ongoing investigation,” Stevens said.
Stevens declined to comment on whether further arrests could be expected, saying it was too early to speculate on the direction of the investigation.
He also acknowledged the impact investigations involving children can have on emergency services workers.
“It’s not just the family who are affected by this, it’s the responding police officers, it’s the detectives who work on the case, it’s the people that work in our health sector that have to manage those circumstances,” he said.
“People carry these incidents with them potentially for the rest of their lives.”
Investigations remain ongoing.
Originally published on 7NEWS
