Thursday, 4:30 PM
Parents surrender in death of newborn
By Michael Levenson and Connie Paige, Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent
MILFORD -- Two people turned themselves in to police Sunday, saying they were the parents of a newborn boy whose body was found in the back of a garbage truck on Saturday.
The parents, whose names were not released, were not charged with any crimes, said Thomas O’Loughlin , chief of the Milford Police Department.
The woman, a 27-year-old from Milford, was moved to turn herself in by the kindness of a veteran detective who interviewed her at her home Sunday, O’Loughlin said. When the mother showed up at the town police station at noon, she had a "glazed look," and was "clearly remorseful," he said.
Paramedics treated her for "the natural conditions you would expect to find after someone’s given birth," O’Loughlin said.
"She’s OK physically," he said. "Emotionally, she’s going to need help."
O’Loughlin declined to say whether the baby was alive at birth, because investigators have yet to determine the cause and manner of the death. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has scheduled an autopsy for Monday.
If the baby was stillborn, a charge could be brought of disposal of a dead body. If he was alive at birth, charges could range from manslaughter to homicide, O’Loughlin said.
Two trash collectors discovered the body in the back of their truck as they collected garbage at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Purchase Street, a busy route that passes from Hopkinton to Milford near exits to Interstate 495.
Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com. Christine McConville of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
