Suitcase Babies

On February 6, 1950, Toronto’s Globe and Mail reported that Queenie Baker, a 40-year-old woman from Hamilton was being held in the city following discovery of the mummified body of a baby boy in a suitcase which she had left at the Sunnyside Children’s Centre in Kingston, where she had been working.

She had sent a request to Kingston asking that her belongings – including the suitcase – be returned to her in Hamilton. Staff at the centre had become suspicious when they noticed ‘an offensive odor’ emanating from the trunk. Since Ms. Baker had been employed in Kingston for only a month, it was suggested that she had brought the dead baby with her when she arrived.

The next day, the Globe and Mail reported that Queenie had pled guilty to charges: ‘February 7, 1950 Globe and Mail: Admits 2 Charges as Baby’s Body Found in Trunk: Hamilton, Feb. 6 (Staff) – Queenie Baker, 40, of Wellington Street S. today pleaded guilty to two charges in connection with the discovery of a baby’s body in a trunk in Kingston last week. The charges were neglecting to provide reasonable assistance at the delivery of a child, and disposing of the body of a dead child.’

The story went on to reveal that, ‘According to Det. George Mair, the accused admitted in a statement that the baby was born in Hamilton in March, 1948. She did not wish to reveal the father’s name … Mair informed the court that Dr. W. D. Hay, pathologist at Queen’s University, who conducted the post-mortem examination, said it was impossible to determine the age of the child or whether the infant was alive at birth.’

It is hard to imagine what would have driven a mother to go to such great lengths to conceal a baby’s existence.

Three years later — and only 1.5km away from the Maclean family home on Rosslyn Avenue — another baby was found in a suitcase. Initially, the child had been reported as missing by the mother, described by the press as a ‘pretty red-head’. The 7-month-old was found the same day, deceased.

On April 16, 1953, the Globe and Mail reported the story under the headline ‘Hamilton Infant Strangled: Dick Case Officer Again Finds Baby in Trunk. Hamilton, April 15: The body of a 6-month-old baby girl was found in a small trunk in the basement of her parents’ home late this afternoon. A piece of cloth was wrapped tightly around the child’s neck and she had died of strangulation.

Little Audrey Ann Nield, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Nield of 778 Lawrence Road, disappeared from her buggy at the rear of the home shortly before noon today. At first the baby was believed to have been kidnapped and squads of police scoured the area for hours.

Late this afternoon, Det. Sgt. John Freeborn, in charge of the investigation, Det. Roy Karsten and Det. John Wade, returned to the house to search the premises. Shortly afterward the search ended.

Det. Freeborn, the man who found the dead baby of Mrs. Evelyn Dick in a suitcase six years ago, said a hunch led him to conduct a search of the Nield home. The small trunk was found pushed up against others on a cellar shelf.

“I thought it was a doll when I opened the trunk,” he said. The baby was dressed as it had been in the buggy.

Inspector of Detectives Walter Hagan said the baby had been strangled and stuffed into the trunk.’

Another story, reported by Saskatchewan’s The Leader Post on June 19, 1943, reported that: ‘City police announced Saturday an inquest will be held into the death of a young baby found in a suitcase near Balfour Technical school on June 5. The body, badly decomposed, was that of a child a few weeks old.’

What do you think was pushing women to act in such ways? Have you found other stories of babies in suitcases? This is something I’m struggling to understand, but then … I didn’t endure the war years. I have no idea of what it must have been like in those times.

I’ve ordered a book by Australian author, Tanya Bretherton, which delves into a similar sad tale from 1920s Sydney, NSW. I’ll be sure to let you know what light she can share.