PLEASANT HILL, MO (KCTV) -
A search for drugs and stolen property led to authorities discovering the body of a newborn encased in a tub of concrete.
The tub was found in a couple's garage in Cass County.
The mother is in the hospital and the father is in jail. Felony charges are possible.
"Right now, we are looking at a some type of abandonment of a corpse charge," Pleasant Hill Police Department Chief Robert Driscoll said. "We'll have to determine whether the child was alive or whether it was stillborn and exactly where we go from there."
The Jackson County Medical Examiner's Office will conduct the autopsy. Additional charges are possible if the baby was alive and foul play was involved in the death.
The couple's young children have been placed in the care of a relative. The couple are cooperating with investigators, Driscoll said.
Police went to the home Monday night and were there for hours conducting the investigation. They did not find any drugs or stolen property. But during the search, they learned about the possibility of a baby encased in concrete. Authorities undertook special testing of the garage to confirm that and eventually focused on the standard tub.
Driscoll said it appears that the mother gave birth in early October. He said the couple wasn't facing any type of financial issues or other life stresses that would have prevented them from getting help.
If someone has a baby at home and something goes wrong during the delivery, then 911 should be called, the police chief said.
"Some decisions were made that were probably not correct in this instance," he said.
Kurt Brent saw the police activity outside his neighbor's home, but he was still stunned by what was found. He said the fire chief lives two doors down and readily could have provided aid.
"It turns my stomach. It gives me anger and sadness about it," Brent said. "I just think if someone was to dispose of a child in this manner that they were not right in the head."
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