Baby Aaron 'buried by group of strangers'

Baby Aaron was buried by a group of strangers today as police made another plea for his mother to come forward, or at least see a doctor.

He was found on January 24 by a plumber called to unblock a drain in Cobham Pl, Hastings. A post-mortem examination revealed he was stillborn.

Philip Moore, clinical paediatric director at Hawkes Bay District Health Board, said Aaron would have had a three-to-one chance of surviving if born in a hospital.

"There is a lot that could have been done and that's the tragedy," he said.

Aaron, as police named him, was the second infant found dead in the town last month. The body of another newborn, named Moses by police, was found in a grass ditch behind a church. Neither mother has been found.

The officer in charge of the Aaron investigation, Detective Senior Sergeant Sam Aberahama, pleaded for any information.

"We have just buried Aaron," he said. "He is the son, grandson, nephew, perhaps brother of a family out there.

"Police believe a second person may have been involved in the birth.

"I am extremely disappointed that neither has come forward and given this baby a proper whanau funeral."

Mr Aberahama said that instead Aaron was being buried by a group of strangers. "Aaron was found in a sewer that is fed into by a limited number of homes. You would know if your daughter, cousin, aunty or friend had visited any one of these addresses between January 15 and 24.

"We have no idea of the physical or mental condition the mother is in ... at the very least, please see a doctor."

Aaron's mother had been 25 or 26 weeks pregnant when the baby was born. He was of Maori or Pacific Island descent, born two to five days before the post-mortem examination and had been in the water for four to six hours before being found.

Moses was found on January 4 in a ditch at the back of a garden in Hastings and police are still trying to find his mother.

- NZPA