A BUILDER who found the 100-year-old remains of a dead baby boy hidden under floorboards says he knew instantly he had been “murdered”.
David Dent suffers from haunting flashbacks after of the unidentified tragic tot – now known as Baby Auckland – during renovation work.
earlier this month the newborn skeleton – found wrapped in newspaper from 1910, with twine looped around his neck – was deliberately garrotted while still alive.
Dad-of-six David, 42, told The Sun: “I knew 100% that he had been strangled… by the shape of his jaw bone, it looked like he was gasping for air.”
He added: “It’s one thing I’ll never get out my head.”
The baby was found at a property in Bishop Aukland, , in July 2024 – and later on April 27 this year.
Coroner Crispin Oliver said during the inquest on September 17 the most likely explanation was that the “person in a position to care for him while he was most vulnerable” took the decision to end the boy’s life “by means of strangulation using twine as a garotte”.
The coroner added: “As such, this was homicide.”
Given the passage of time, there was no prospect of any criminal proceedings, the coroner said, despite lengthy inquiries.
The hearing was told that the investigation involved testing, a radio carbon expert and a forensic anthropologist as well as public appeals.
However, Mr Oliver added there was no record of the baby existing.
He said: “This is a very sad and singular case.”
Mr Dent did not attend the funeral but has since visited the grave at the Bishop Auckland Town Cemetery.
He left a Teddy bear he’d bought from Asda and said it felt “like a weight off my shoulders”, adding: “I had a bit of peace.”
Mr Dent had been working with pal Peter Moody, the owner of the property in Fore Bondgate, when they made the grim discovery.
He said he can’t get over the fact that if they hadn’t ripped up the floorboards, the baby would still be hidden there.
“I still get the odd flashback now and again… the wife said I’ve not been the same since,” Mr Dent continued.
He said family and colleagues have suggested he sees a doctor but he said: “I like to deal with things my own way – it gives me more peace knowing we found him and he’s had a proper funeral.”
The baby was wrapped in a newspaper called The Umpire.
Renovations were being carried out in a second floor room at the building.
Records established that the property, used as a cafe at the time, was built in the late 19th century.
Detective Chief Inspector Mel Sutherland, who led the police inquiry, said forensic anthropologist Dr Micol Zuppello worked at the scene and established that the remains were human and male.
Dr Zuppello believed the body, since mummified, was placed face-down.
She judged the remains were that of a baby of 38-40 weeks gestational development.
pathologist Dr Louise Mulcahy told the inquest she could not ascertain the cause of death.
There was no sign of trauma on the skeletal remains, but there was no soft tissue left to establish if poisoning was a factor.
She confirmed to the coroner that the twine was looped and knotted directly around the baby’s neck, then wrapped in newspaper, rather than the chord being used to tie the wrapping, like a parcel.
That finding led the coroner to judge that the baby had been strangled with the twine.
Mr Dent, from Newton Aycliffe, previously told The Sun he was in shock when he unwrapped the remains after lifting up the floorboards.
He said he was reminded of his youngest daughter Bella as he looked at the baby before accidentally dropping it, causing its arm and hand to break off.
The dad Facetimed his wife Claire, who advised him to call the police.
“I was stood with a length of 4×2, popping these floorboards up, and we found a ball of newspaper,” he said.
“All I could see was a ribcage… We picked it up and the first my mate said was ‘urgh, what’s that there?’ I thought it must be a big pigeon.
“When I got hold of it, I looked at it and for some reason I pulled the paper off it and I’ve seen a little skull.
“When I saw that I was in a bit of shock. I half placed it, half dropped it on the floor.
“I noticed a little arm and a hand that fell off it.”
Mr Dent said the skull had a full set of teeth, which he didn’t realise newborns had.
“I remember the size of it was about the same size as my daughter when she was born,” he continued.
“I put him in my hand and picked him up, I was vaguely thinking about my daughter Bella, she was the exact same size.”
After Facetiming his wife Claire, he explained “she said ‘yeah, it’s a baby’ straightaway”.
Mr Dent said she also spotted the two lengths of twine around the child’s neck.
“It’s been strangled, you can see that,” he added.
Describing the remains, Mr Dent said: “I can’t explain, it was like dead light but looked like when you find a dead bird, it was in my left hand and I couldn’t feel the weight of it.
“It was that little and crispy. I can’t really explain the texture, it was just really thin, but I knew what it was straight away when I saw the skull.
“It was the size of my daughter’s, she was only 3lbs and that’s when it sunk in after that.”
Mr Dent said he previously worked for an undertaker and has seen “bodies that have had their heads smashed in and all sorts and it never bothered me”.
“But when I found the bairn like that it affected us.”
He said the police officers who arrived said “you need to stop what you’re doing and get out, that was the attitude”.
“I said I’m sorry but I’ve just witnessed something there that I’ve never witnessed before in my life, that I wasn’t expecting.
“I went downstairs and all my mouth was dry and I thought I’m going to need a can of pop or something here.
“[An officer] said you’re going nowhere. It’s a murder scene, that type of thing.”
Mr Dent said he was held at the scene for a couple of hours and later had to give a statement to the police.
He added: “The CID guys said just keep it to yourself. Obviously, I told my wife about it.
“It wasn’t until the next day, the Tuesday, when I was driving my van back home and they said on the radio it was an actual baby that they’d found, and I had to pull over because it caught me off guard.”
He went on to say: “When I get a decent drink on the weekend when I’m out with the lads and that, it’s weird, it just gets like flashed back.
“I think about how anyone could do that to a baby because I’ve got six kids of my own.”
If you have any information about 67 Fore Bondgate, phone 101 and quote incident number DHM-29072024-0127.
