A woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder after her five-month-old baby died on being discovered in a serious condition in a park.
The baby girl was found in an area of Woodhouse Moor Park in Leeds on Wednesday evening. She was taken to hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment, but later died.
The woman, who West Yorkshire Police have confirmed was the child’s mother, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remains in custody.
The force’s homicide team is now leading the investigation and part of the park has been cordoned off for forensic examination. Footage shared on social media shows police tape close to a statue for Robert Peel by an entrance from Hyde Park Road.
Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said: “The death of a child in these circumstances is clearly a very tragic incident and we are carrying out enquiries to get a complete picture of what has occurred.
“We would like to hear from anyone who was in the park around this time and who witnessed anything or who has any information that could assist the investigation.”
A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “At 5.44pm yesterday a woman contacted police reporting a baby in a serious condition in an area of Woodhouse Moor park at the junction of Clarendon Road and Moorland Road in Leeds.
“Officers attended and the five-month-old girl was taken to hospital by ambulance for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead a short time later.”
Woodhouse Moor is a large park around one mile from Leeds city centre. Leeds City Council say it gets three million visits each year and is the second most popular park in the city.
It features five paths which meet in the centre, and hosts a Parkrun every Saturday morning.
