Cold Case Edinburgh: Craigmillar newborn baby found burned 2001, were parents found, are police investigating?

It’s been 21-years since a new born baby was found dead in a suburb of Edinburgh, here is everything we know about the tragic incident.

Warning: Some readers may find the contents of this article distressing.

Who found him?

Early morning on Sunday, March 11, a dog walker found the remains of a new born baby boy between Harewood Road and Harewood Drive.

Cold Case Edinburgh: Craigmillar newborn baby found burned 2001, were parents found, are police investigating?

He had been deliberately set on fire. Found next to him was a blanket and a baby grow.

The police were called immediately and an investigation launched by Lothian and Borders Police force, as they were called before the creation of Police Scotland.

A post mortem failed to establish a cause of death showing only that the child was born alive.

Who were his parents?

The parents have never been traced.

The baby’s DNA is on file – through which the DNA of the mother and father could be identified should the police get a sample to test again, and they are hopeful that this will one day be the key to solving the crime.

More and more people are being added to the national criminal database every day.

Police

A massive police investigation was launched at the time, and hundreds of locals were interviewed in an attempt to trace the baby’s parents.

Confidential police phone lines were set up in order to gather information in an attempt to establish what had happened.

The investigation was not successful.

In 2006, the BBC reported that the newly formed Serious Crime Review Unit was going to take on this investigation as its first case.

Community reaction

The Craigmillar community responded with empathy and compassion.

They raised money for a headstone, a memorial stone to sit on the spot baby Craig was found, as well as holding a funeral for him.

There is now a school being built on that spot, and so the memorial has been moved, with a decision about its location is still underway.

Within the school, there will be a memorial garden – a place of tranquillity and reflection – to commemorate Craig’s young life.

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