As Baltimore police searched a Philadelphia row house Monday, they came upon a gruesome sight:
Luggage that appeared to hold a dead baby.
On Tuesday, the Philadelphia medical examiner confirmed their suspicions, saying the remains were consistent with a 1- or 2-year-old child.
“It?s believed the infant died two years ago,” said Baltimore Police Department spokesman Sterling Clifford. “The remains were old.”
The investigation into a missing Baltimore baby began a few weeks ago, when Baltimore police received a tip alleging an 18-month-old child had been murdered and the remains taken out of state, Clifford said.
He added the tip contained a “fairly extensive description” of the child, though he would not reveal that description nor disclose the child?s sex.
Baltimore homicide detectives learned information that led them to Philadelphia, where they applied for the search warrant on a row house in the 700 block of South 13th Street, said Lt. Frank Vanore, a Philadelphia police spokesman.
Investigators from both departments searched the dwelling and, in the rear of the property, found “some type of a luggage or suitcase” containing the remains, Vanore said.
Baltimore police are now waiting on the results of an autopsy in Philadelphia to determine the cause and manner of death.
Until then, the case cannot be determined a homicide.
Officers have not determined if the baby is the same child reported missing from Baltimore.
