Members of the community earlier provided a kahu huruhuru cloak for Anahera to wear at her funeral. Photo / Supplied
By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
Warning: This story contains graphic details.
A coroner’s report into the death of a newborn baby found at a recycling plant in Auckland nearly four years ago has revealed the “extensive” inquiries to try to identify her family.
The coroner says while the identity of the baby’s mother remained a mystery, the circumstances in which the baby was found suggested she “endured an extremely traumatic and scary experience”.
“I can only hope that she has received the support and help she needs from somewhere.”
The newborn baby was found at the Visy Recycling Plant in Onehunga, Auckland on August 16, 2021. Despite significant publicity and police investigation, neither the baby, nor her parents were identified. After her discovery, the Onehunga community named her Baby Anahera (Angel).
Coroner Alison Mills carried out an inquiry into Anahera’s death.
Her findings, released to RNZ, looked into the background circumstances of Anahera’s death, the police investigation, the release of Anahera and the post-mortem report.
The report said that on August 16, 2021, a staffer at the recycling plant was working on a waste conveyor belt when they thought they saw something that looked like a baby’s body pass by on the conveyor belt.
“Understandably, the worker was initially in shock and confused by what he had seen. He was unsure what to do and a bit panicked, so he did not immediately stop the conveyor belt.
“A short time later the worker told his shift supervisor about what he thought he had seen, and the machinery was stopped.”
A search was carried out by staff who found Anahera, and police were called.
Coroner Mills said police undertook an “extensive investigation” to try to identify who the baby was and her parents or wider family.
The investigation established that Anahera must have arrived at the recycling plant on the day she was found. On that day, 104 trucks delivered loads of rubbish from across Auckland.
“The delivery trucks had dumped the rubbish into a large mixed pile and the incoming deliveries were not sorted individually or separated.
“Police searched the rubbish found near Anahera but as the rubbish had been dumped into one big pile prior to being processed, they were unable to pinpoint a specific area in Auckland where Anahera may have come from.”
Police also reviewed CCTV footage from the centre to try to identify which truck she was on. They also made inquiries with hospitals in the Auckland area, but were unable to identify any possible recent births that could be linked to Anahera.
Police also used her DNA to try and find her family.
“Several hundred names were captured on the list as being possibly related,” Coroner Mills said.
“These were prioritised, and DNA samples were obtained from the top 78. However, this did not lead to the identification of her parents.”
Coroner Mills said there was an “extensive media publicity campaign”, which resulted in “numerous possible names” being given to police.
“Police conducted inquiries with all nominated persons and obtained DNA samples where required, however, again, this did not lead to the identification of Anahera’s mother or father.
“Police have also received numerous names from the public of women who could possibly be Anahera’s mother. However, despite investigating these individuals, they have been unable to positively identify Anahera’s mother.”
Police told the coroner the case was being treated as unexplained and would remain open until the mother and or father have been identified and spoken to.
“I encourage anyone who has further information about the circumstances of Anahera’s birth and death to speak to police,” the coroner said.
A full forensic post-mortem was carried out, however, it was not possible to establish the cause of Anahera’s death because of the number of injuries she sustained after her death.
“The pathologist noted the injuries were consistent with how she was found. No definitive ante mortem [prior to death] injuries were identified and no anatomic cause of her death was identified.”
The pathologist was also unable to confirm whether Anahera had been born alive, or was a stillbirth.
Coroner Mills said the circumstances around Anahera’s death were “particularly distressing”.
“I do not know who Anahera’s mother was or what she experienced prior to Anahera’s birth and death. However, the circumstances in which Anahera was found, suggests her mother endured an extremely traumatic and scary experience.”
Police had advised the coroner that Anahera’s body could now be released.
On Friday, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said a burial for Anahera would be held next month. The burial, organised by members of the community, will mark four years since she was found.
Beard wanted to reiterate to the family that police wanted to help resolve the case for the baby and her family.
“It’s not too late for the baby’s mother or someone within her immediate circle of family or friends to come forward,” he said.
“We urge them and anyone else who might know what happened to do the right thing and talk to somebody, whether it’s police or someone who can notify us on their behalf.”
Anyone with information is urged to contact 105 quoting file number 210816/2825 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Corner Mills encouraged any woman who needs support with an unplanned pregnancy to reach out to the numerous agencies that offer support and services in these circumstances including:
-RNZ