Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) responded to a grim discovery at Brookside Park on the near east side of Indianapolis, where a deceased infant was located by a passerby Monday afternoon, FOX59 reported. The park's address, 3500 Brookside Parkway S. Dr., became the center of a death investigation as officers and detectives gathered evidence in the wooded area where the body was found, with the infant believed to be less than a day old.
Detectives from IMPD's Child Abuse Unit are leading the investigation and have been joined by the Marion County Coroner's Office and the Indiana Department of Child Services among other agencies in an effort to understand the circumstances that ended so tragically as the authorities are keen on collecting any information the public might offer and Detective Robert Burns has been specifically assigned to this case, WTHR mentioned. Individuals with knowledge pertinent to the infant's death are encouraged to contact Det. Burns by calling 317-765-6096 or via email at [email protected]; alternatively, anonymous tips can still be submitted through Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.
Following this tragic event, IMPD reminded the public about Indiana's Safe Haven Law, which allows individuals to surrender newborns anonymously without the threat of prosecution provided there's no sign of intentional abuse on the child, as detailed on the Department of Child Services' website, WRTV reports. The law is designed as a measure to safely care for infants whose parents cannot provide for them, with the Indiana DCS taking custody and placing the children with licensed caregivers or through Child Protective Services.
