Baby who hadn’t been seen for nearly a month is found dead in Adelaide motel room – with incense burning to mask the smell
A baby who had reportedly been missing for up to a month has been found dead inside an Adelaide motel room.
Incense was burning in the room to mask the smell upon the horrific discovery on Saturday morning.
Emergency services were called to the Tollgate Motel shortly before 10.30am, where they found a baby aged under one dead inside a room. The child’s body is understood to have been there for up to a month.
The baby’s parents had reportedly been staying at the motel for a month, while residents raised concerns after the infant had not been seen for several weeks.
The couple are not believed to be from South Australia.
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Monday that neither the family nor the child were known to authorities, as investigations into the circumstances continued.
‘Whenever a child or infant passes away, it is a tragedy beyond comprehension,’ he said.
‘I’m in a position to be able to advise this family and this child were not known to the South Australian Department of Child Protection but there are still active inquiries underway across other agencies.’
Emergency services were called to the Tollgate Motel in Adelaide shortly before 10.30am, where they found a baby aged under one dead inside a room
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said that neither the family nor the child were known to authorities, as investigations into the circumstances continued
Police with the assistance of Crime Scene Investigators and Eastern District Detectives are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
It is understood that between 18 and 20 of the motel’s 39 rooms are occupied by long-term residents, with up to six people having lived there for more than a decade.
Motel resident Jacqui Fricker, who moved in in January, told Adelaide Now she was shocked by the news.
‘You just don’t know, I suppose, what’s going on with other people … just a couple of doors down. Occasionally you hear people fighting … but not a lot, normally it’s fairly quiet,’ she said.
Ms Fricker said she first became aware of the tragedy unfolding just two doors away when she heard a man suddenly shouting shortly before 10.30am on Saturday.
‘I peered out the window and saw that the police were here,’ she said.
‘That was the first hint of trouble, I didn’t hear anything prior to that. I didn’t think that would happen (here). There was just a big police presence all of a sudden.’
More to come
