St. Louis man finds mummified baby in dead mom's freezer

A St. Louis man said he found a mummified infant in his mother's freezer, just days after the elderly woman's death.

Adam Smith said he made the gruesome discovery while cleaning out his mother's apartment, according to various local news outlets. The box had been in the freezer for decades, but his mother, who died after a battle with cancer, told him never to open it.

He said he expected to find an old wedding cake or money inside the box, but he couldn't believe his eyes when he opened it on Sunday and found the mummified remains of a baby girl, wrapped in a pink blanket.

He said his mother lived in the St. Louis apartment for more than 20 years and toted the box with her through various moves, according to Smith.

“Even as she was on her deathbed, she never told me what was in that box,” Smith told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on Monday. “That’s what makes me think maybe she did something to this baby and didn’t want to tell anyone because she was afraid she would get in trouble.”

Smith said he provided police with a DNA sample and believes the child may have been his baby sister.

After the discovery, relatives told him that his mother delivered a set of twins. One was stillborn and the other was given up for adoption, he said, adding that she apparently also had several miscarriages.

St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officials said they responded to the family's home at around 1 a.m. Sunday and launched a "suspicious death" investigation.

"Officers received a call relative to a deceased infant located inside a residence," the department said in a statement Tuesday. "The Child Abuse Unit and Homicide responded. The investigation is ongoing and is being investigated as a 'suspicious death' pending an autopsy."

Officials declined further comment.