ST. LOUIS — Authorities are investigating after a man said he found the body of an infant in a freezer while cleaning out his mother’s St. Louis apartment after she died.
Adam Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he made the discovery when he opened a cardboard box Sunday that he says his mom had kept in her freezer for decades, bringing it along with her throughout various moves. He says he was going through his mom’s belongings after she died July 21 at the age of 68 from lung cancer.
Smith told the Post-Dispatch that he and his 45-year-old sister have wondered for years what was in the box.
When he finally got to opening it, he said he expected to find the top of his mom’s wedding cake or, perhaps, some money. Instead, he discovered mummified remains of a newborn and a pink blanket.
“Even as she was on her deathbed, she never told me what was in that box,” Smith told the paper. “That’s what makes me think maybe she did something to this baby and didn’t want to tell anyone because she was afraid she would get in trouble.”
Smith told the paper that he’s been learning more about his mom ever since his freezer discovery, including that his mother had a set of twins — one stillborn, the other given up for adoption.
“I’m finding out my mom wasn’t who I thought she was,” Smith said.
Smith told the Post-Dispatch he has contacted his estranged father to tell him what he found. “He told me my mom was pregnant on their first date and that the next time he saw her, she wasn’t,” Smith said.
Police said in a news release Monday only that the infant was found inside a residence and that the death is being investigated as “suspicious” pending an autopsy. Police declined further comment.
Smith says he has provided police a DNA sample.
