Woman, 37, appears in court today accused of killing newborn baby boy and leaving his body wrapped in a towel in Hampshire woodland
- Silipa Keresi, 37, appeared at Southampton Magistrates’ Court this morning
- She was arrested by police for second time after being released on bail in 2020
- The tiny newborn baby boy was discovered wrapped in a blanket in woodland
A woman appeared in court today charged with the murder of a newborn baby boy whose body was found wrapped in a white blanket in an area of woodland last year.
Silipa Keresi, 37, from Hythe, Hampshire, was arrested in connection with the death of the ‘recently born baby’ for the second time at the weekend.
Today at Southampton Magistrates’ Court she nodded in the dock as she was asked to confirm her name and the charge was read out.
Police officers scouring the scene in March 2020 around woodlands in Hythe, near Southampton.
She will next appear at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, March 31, for a further hearing and will remain in custody.
A Hampshire Police spokesman said Keresi was arrested in March last year and released on bail but remained under investigation while inquiries continued.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: ‘She had previously been arrested back in early March 2020 after the discovery of the body of a recently born baby in an area of woodland in Hythe on Thursday, March 5, last year.
‘She was initially released on bail then later released under investigation while enquiries continued.
‘Detectives arrested her again at the weekend and following advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and have now charged her with the murder.’
The tragic infant was discovered by retired HGV driver Michael Dorsett who was out walking his collie cross through the wooded area.
Police forensics at the scene in Hythe, Hampshire in 2020 after the baby boy was found by a dogwalker
He said at the time: ‘I saw something wrapped in a towel, lying by the bottom of a tree and I thought somebody had dumped a dead cat or a dead dog and then I saw a little arm or something sticking out.
‘I peeled back the towel to have a look and I saw immediately it was a baby so I touched his face gently with the back of my finger and it was ice cold so I knew he had to be dead.
‘I walked home straight away, really quickly. I spoke to the police on the phone and they came down and I showed them where the baby was.
‘There was only a small bit of his face exposed, I don’t know how long he had been there but it can’t have been longer than a few hours.
Officers appealed for the mother to come forward at the time and carried out door-to-door inquiries.