Children's remains found in boxes

Last Modified: 12 May 2008
Source: ITN

The remains of two children have been found hidden in toy boxes at a dead woman's home.

One set of remains was in a pink doll's box and the other in a blue toy box.

The daughter of the dead woman, who was in her 70s when she died two years ago, made the grim discovery while she cleared out her mother's home in Audenshaw, Greater Manchester.

A post-mortem will be held on Thursday to find out how the children died and DNA tests will be conducted to discover if they were related to the woman.

It is not yet known how old the children were or what sex they were, although the remains were at different stages of decomposition.

Police were called to a maisonette in Rowcon Close on May 8 by the daughter of the woman, who had eight known children.

The small boxes, about 2ft long, were covered by towelling material and were found in the wardrobe of a bedroom, police said.

Detective Inspector Derek Weaver said: "We believe the boxes have been there for some time. The only clue we have was the presence of a newspaper, dated November 26, 1956, which was alongside one of the bodies.

"We believe the woman who lived there died in July 2006. Her family kept the possessions on one side without ever looking at them until they recently decided to have a house clearance.

"They are shocked and bewildered and it's obviously been quite a traumatic time. They have appealed for privacy.

"It is a tragic story which we need to get to the bottom of."

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