Newborn's Body Found Buried In Century-Old Home Used By Drug-Peddlers; Parents Arrested

A man and a woman were arrested after a newborn’s body was found buried in the basement of a home in Canada.

Deputies with the Hamilton Police Department arrived at a vacant home in the wee hours of Wednesday after receiving an anonymous tip of a buried baby at the address.

On Thursday afternoon, Staff Sgt. Jim Callender confirmed the baby’s body was recovered by forensic anthropologists.

"This is a tragic scenario that's gone on here, one that no police officer or individual wants to deal with, but it's one that we are dealing with today. I think this is one of those situations that no officer wants to come across," he said, CTV News reported.

Following an investigation, two people, believed to be the baby’s parents, were taken into custody. Winnie Ensor, 24, and 34-year-old Nathan O’Brien, appeared in court and were charged with criminal negligence causing death and interfering with a dead body.

"We have spoken with both of them and part of the information they provided has been of assistance to us," Callender said, CTV News reported.

Further investigation revealed the home, which is over a century old, was used by drug users and squatters and the basement was unfinished. The two were also charged with unlawfully being in a dwelling.

Callender said he couldn’t speak about why the newborn was buried.

"Circumstances arise and are part of this investigation. There's some sensitivity to that, so I'm not going to discuss that," he said. "We have been working closely with the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, and the coroner has also been engaged. This will continue on for the next couple of days."

Meanwhile, the police have asked anyone with any information about the case to call them at 905-546-4167 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477.

In a similar incident earlier this week, a newborn was found dumped in bushes in South Africa. A passerby was walking when he heard a baby cry and found the newborn inside a packet in the nearby bushes. He informed the local authorities who arrived at the scene and rushed the baby to a local hospital. The baby, believed to be a few hours old, was assessed and reported to be in good health.