Doll buried in coffin in pregnancy hoax

A woman has admitted burying a doll in a coffin in order to dupe her partner into believing she had been pregnant.

Internal Affairs called police about six weeks ago after getting a request for birth and death certificates for a dead baby, the Manukau Courier reported.

"They came to us because there was no police record or doctor's certificate for it," said Detective Senior Sergeant Darrell Harpur.

Police, who thought they might be dealing with the suspicious death of a child, went to see a 33-year-old South Auckland woman, who told them there was no body in the grave.

Officers exhumed a casket from Mangere Lawn Cemetery, in South Auckland, this week.

"When we opened it, sure enough there was a doll wrapped in a blanket in the plot."

Mr Harpur said the episode "revolved around" the woman's partner wanting a child. The woman initially believed she was pregnant, but then learned she was not.

"But for some reason she couldn't tell him so she embarked on this subterfuge."

The woman was given a warning for a deception-type charge, which would be kept on file.

The casket was returned to the ground, minus its plaque, because the cemetery administrator did not want to reuse the plot, he said.

As far as police know, the woman had told only her partner the truth about the fake burial, Mr Harpur said.

Most family members still "think there is a baby there".

- NZPA