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The case of "Baby Jane Doe," began on Jan. 24, 1974, at 4:10 p.m., when an 11-year-old boy walking home from school on Wilson Avenue at Ely Avenue, noticed a brick red suitcase with white trim near the Wennik’s building, police said.
The boy brought the suitcase home and opened it with his brother and sister, police said. Inside, the three youngsters found baby toys and a brown paper bag with a dark plastic bag inside. When the children opened the bag, they found the body of a newborn baby girl, police said.
Police said the baby was a newborn with the placenta and umbilical cord still attached. The umbilical cord had been cut but not tied off. Baby Jane Doe was a full term newborn, weighing 7 pounds, 7 ounces with black hair. She was alive before she was struck on the head, causing her death, police said. A follow-up autopsy estimated that Baby Jane Doe had been deceased for a day or two when her body was found, police said.
The suitcase Baby Jane Doe was found in was a Jesus A. Ossam brand that is manufactured in Medellin, Colombia. The suitcase also contained a few toys, teething rings, and maps of Miami and Miami Beach, New Jersey, Connecticut and Rhode Island. The Miami maps have an area circled for Mendoza St./Ave, Hialeah Park, and Opa Locka area.
An employee of Cook Laboratories reported to police that just around 4 p.m. on Jan. 24, 1974, he saw a well-dressed Hispanic or Italian-descent woman, age 20 to 22 with shoulder length black hair walk in front of the building carrying a red and white suitcase. About 20 minutes later, the same person saw the young boy carrying the same red and white suitcase.
A bus driver also said that he observed the woman in the area around 3:30 p.m. on the same day. The driver said the woman got off the bus at the Norwalk Theater.
Anybody with information is asked to contact Lt. Art Weisgerber at 203-854-3028 or aweisgerber@norwalkct.org. Anonymous Internet tips can be sent through the Norwalk police website at: www.norwalkpd.com or anonymous text tips can be submitted by typing “NPD” into the text field, followed by the message and sending it to CRIMES (274637).
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