It was on 17 September 2017, when the first baby, Harry, was found, over a mile to the west of the spot Elsa was left – just north of the Greenway, a four-mile long footpath and cycleway in Newham. He’d been left in a bush in Plaistow Park, wrapped in a towel.
Sixteen months later, his sister Roman was discovered on a bench by a dog walker in the small children’s play park, in Roman Road.
She was found on a freezing evening, at about 22:15. Roman was wrapped in a towel, inside a Sainsbury’s shopping bag.
The babies’ names were given to them by emergency staff who helped them – they have all since been changed.
DNA tests revealed that Harry and Roman were full siblings, however, that information wasn’t initially made public.
It was only when Elsa was found five years later, and the case came before the family court, that we were able to report all three babies had the same parents.
Det Insp Jamie Humm, who became the case’s senior investigating officer after Elsa was found, says “it wasn’t a huge shock” when DNA confirmed she was the sister of the other two babies.
Elsa had been abandoned just a few minutes’ walk from where Roman was found.
