Dominican authorities open investigation after bodies of six newborns found at cemetery entrance

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Authorities in the Dominican Republic said Wednesday that an investigation is underway after the bodies of six newborns were found discarded at the entrance of a cemetery in the capital, Santo Domingo.

The four girls and two boys still had hospital tags around their feet and wrists and there were no signs of violence, said medical examiner Dr. Angi Vicioso, who was at the scene.

She said the babies were born on different dates and that some were stillborn and others had died hours after they were born, according to an examination at the scene.

One body was found uncovered, and five others were inside a plastic bag, said Fausto Ortiz, security chief for the mayor’s office of Santo Domingo Este.

Identity cards at the scene were linked to the neonatal unit of Juan Bosch City Hospital, which is located near the cemetery, authorities said.

Marilelda Reyes, the hospital’s director, said the bodies of six newborns were delivered Tuesday to Funeral Home La Popular for proper burial. However, authorities have not confirmed whether those bodies are the same as the ones found Wednesday near the cemetery.

A man who answered the phone at the funeral home Wednesday identified himself only as Misael and declined to identify the owner of the company. He also declined comment, saying only that an investigation was underway to determine whether what occurred was the responsibility of the funeral home or of the caretakers at the cemetery.