HEARTBREAK AFTER BABIES FOUND DEAD
Neighbours tell of shock amid probe
A COMMUNITY told of its shock and heartbreak last night as three were questioned over the discovery of two dead babies at a home.
The house in the Wildmill suburb of Bridgend, South Wales, was sealed off after the grim find at the weekend.
Officers were yesterday granted a 36-hour extension to the detention of two men, aged 37 and 47, and a woman, aged 29, who were arrested on suspicion of concealing the birth of a child.
Charmaine Gardener-Ponting, 27, said she has lived next door for a year and never seen or heard babies in the house, adding: “We were told by police they were called to investigate another matter and found the babies.”
Neighbour Jordan Mansell, 33, said: “It was crazy. First a police van turned up and then there was another one, and another. I saw them bring the body bags out. They weren’t big ones for adults. It was just heartbreaking.”
And Richard Davies, 33, added: “It’s shocking. I’ve never seen a woman in the house, let alone a baby. I thought it was two men living there with the dog.”
The occupants of the property – van driver Žilvinas Ledovskis and partner Egle Žilinskaite – have lived there for around a year. Yesterday, a forensic tent had been erected in the garden and a large part of the road on the Maes-Y-Felin estate was sealed off as investigators worked.
Results of postmortem tests seeking to narrow down how and when the two babies died may take several weeks.
Steven Bletsoe, who is councillor for Bridgend Central and grew up in Wildmill, said it was “extremely upsetting”.
But he added: “It’s important that we don’t feed the speculation. We need to allow the police to carry out a full investigation so that answers can be found.”
Supt Marc Attwell, of South Wales Police, said: “This is a very distressing incident. There will be a visible police presence in the area as extensive inquiries continue. We encourage anyone with information to talk to officers.”
I saw them bring the body bags out. It was just heartbreaking
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