Maybe the most troubling part of the discovery of a dead newborn in 2002 was the fact that a law had been passed to stop such an abandonment.
Baby Boy Doe
Over the years many newborns have been abandoned, often in terrible circumstances: swirling in effluent in a sewage treatment plant or at a doorstep where, had they been left at another hour, they would have almost certainly been saved.
Since 1970, there have been six children born and then abandoned, according to a tally by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. But the numbers are much higher.
The lifeless children were given pseudonyms that were only slightly less generic than the typical homicide victims, referred to simply as John or Jane Doe. They were Baby John Doe or Baby Jane Doe.
The difference was stark though.
In these cases it is possible, maybe even likely, that the newborn infants were never given a name by their mother and father. They were simply discarded.
The circumstances in which most of them were abandoned suggested there was no care taken for the fragile newborns. They were discovered in locations across Colorado.
On December 10, 1970, a boy was born into a toilet at a Woolworths store at 16th and Champa in Denver.
The mother didn’t take her newborn child out of the toilet. It’s unclear if the baby cried or struggled.
The infant was simply abandoned in the toilet and left for someone else to deal with. It’s possible the baby was found moments later as the mother was leaving the store.
Denver police tried to discover who the mother was but failed. No one ever came forward.
In the 43 years since the discovery, the newborn has simply been known as Baby John Doe.
Anyone with information that could identify the parents of the child are asked to contact Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-2000.
On March 28, 1971, a Colorado Springs police officer was dispatched to the city sewage plant at 811 E. Las Vegas St. The sickening message was that a dead baby’s body had been found.