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Park police, coroner, investigate after fetus found at Lily Pond
By JOE GORMAN
YOUNGSTOWN
Mill Creek MetroParks Police and the Mahoning County Coroner’s Office are investigating after a fetus was found in the park earlier this month at the Lily Pond.
Coroner Dr. David Kennedy said the fetus is so small its gender cannot be determined. He said he believes the fetus was not carried to term because of a miscarriage.
The fetus was found about 1:25 p.m. April 13 after a woman from Maryland spotted what she thought was a small, pink toy in a hole near a footbridge on a trail at the pond.
Police instead found a box in a hole, and someone wrote on the top of the box: “Too perfect for Earth, 4-6-19,” and on the inside of the lid was written: “We’ll never forget you love you forever, Mommy, Daddy + Big Brother Oliver XOXO.”
Inside was a fetus about 3 to 4 inches in length, reports said.
Kennedy said there is no way to tell if anything was wrong with the fetus or why it was not carried to term because of its size. He said some microscopic samples will be taken, but he added he does not expect to find anything.
“There’s nothing we can do,” Kennedy said.
DNA also can be taken, but Kennedy said he has nothing with which to compare the DNA sample.
The hole the box was found in was about 20 feet from the footbridge and underneath a tree, reports said.
Kennedy said in his 24 years as coroner, this is the first time his office has ever dealt with a case where they had a fetus this small.
“I’ve never seen one before,” he added.