Dead Baby Found Inside Abandoned Mobile Home In San Jose
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- The body of a dead baby was found Tuesday inside a mobile home that had been abandoned for years, according to police.
The San Jose Police Department said investigators didn't find any obvious signs of foul play. Authorities said the baby may have been one month old.
A maintenance worker told police he discovered the dead baby wrapped in a box, among ripped up foam and trash in the open basement.
A neighbor who lives across the street from the mobile home told KPIX 5 that he heard noises from the empty house not too long ago, when he stepped outside to smoke a cigarette.
"Few weeks ago, I heard a baby cry. I look through the window, I don't see nobody in there," neighbor Hung Lee said.
Lee said it was a loud cry that went on for a few seconds and then stopped, so he didn't call police.
"I believe I heard some voice, a woman, talk to the baby," Lee recalled.
In 2001, California implemented the Safely Surrendered Baby Law as a response to increasing numbers of newborn infant deaths due to abandonment in unsafe locations.
The law encourages parents who cannot care for newborns to safely surrender the infant within 72 hours of birth, with no questions asked.
It has resulted in more than 600 newborns being surrendered to authorities.