A £10,000 reward is being offered for information about the alleged murder of a newborn baby boy whose body was found in a canal more than four years ago.
The body was discovered in the Wyrley and Essington Canal at Rough Wood Country Park, near Willenhall in the West Midlands, in May 2021, and despite police investigations and appeals, the baby’s mother has still not been identified.
West Midlands Police is treating the newborn’s death as murder and independent charity Crimestoppers is offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the offences linked to the baby boy’s death.
Detective Superintendent Jim Munro said in a statement at the scene that officers believe the baby was full-term and light-skinned and urged his parents to come forward.
He said: “What we are doing today is, we are coming back to the scene and we are asking for information in relation to the identity of that baby’s parents or directly appealing to the parents to come forward and give us information to explain what happened to the baby.”
He added: “Four years on, loyalties may have changed, information may have come to hand to people. We ask those people to come forward and provide us with that information.
“I urge people to think of their consciences, think of what information may have come to their notice, whether that be at the time and they didn’t feel the need to come forward, or now four years on, to help us understand what happened to that poor baby.”
At the time, officers said the baby was “probably not alive” when he was put into the canal and may have been in the water for up to four days before being discovered by a passer-by in a stretch of canal off Hunts Lane.
Mr Munro said the baby boy deserves justice and his “short life and tragic death must not be forgotten”.
Alan Edwards, West Midlands regional manager at Crimestoppers, said: “This is a particularly sad and tragic case that has deeply affected the local community.
“We urgently need information that can help bring justice for this little boy and support for his mother.
“We believe someone out there knows something and we want to encourage them to come forward anonymously.
“The £10,000 reward is offered to prompt anyone with information to speak up, no matter how small the detail.”
Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at crimestoppers-uk.org.
No personal details are taken, information is not traced or recorded, and you will not go to court.
