Baby Hope Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Baby Hope - Essay Example The findings section shows how months subsequent to the discovery of the girl’s body saw certain facts emerge, where it was discovered that the girl was malnourished and sexually abused. Notably also, the investigators gave information on when the body was found and when it might have been dropped off in the woods of Henry Hudson Parkway as they sought to get details on who had dropped off the cooler. The recommendations given are to help other investigators in future or old cases to get information and support from the public. The conclusion highlights a theme of humanizing a dead girl and remaining relentless to solve the case. Introduction On July 23 1991, a 3- 5 year girl’s body was uncovered in a blue picnic cooler in Manhattan’s upper side, close to Dyckman Street. Detectives issued posters with a toll free number for the public to call in with any information regarding persons carrying the cooler around that area. Employees of a construction company came a cross the decaying body close to the Henry Hudson Parkway early afternoon hours. The girl was naked, hands and feet tied with the only item on her being a string that held her hair in a pony tail presumably (The New York Times, August 3 1991). The Missing Person’s Squad, according to Detective Joseph Gallagher a police spokesman, could not determine if the child had been reported missing owing to the condition in which she was found (The New York Times, July 24 1991.). Findings On June 14, five photographs were discovered next to Route 46 in Garfield, New Jersey. The Polaroid photographers were found in a shopping bag every one showing a girl having oral sex with a man whose face was cut out of the pictures. During October one of the police officers deliberated that those photographs had familial ties to the Baby Hope case as there was a connection linking them to the police composites. Investigators proceeded to send the skull of the dead girl and the photos to the forensic laboratory of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Washington. Dr. Douglas Ubelaker from the Smithsonian Institute assisted the FBI in determining that the photographs along with the girl found in the cooler undoubtedly indicated the same person. This was revealed to the public in January of the following year by the Bergen County Prosecutor, John Fahy. At this time, more descriptive details of the girl were released where it was revealed that she was 3 feet 2 inches tall, white and possibly Hispanic, slight build, olive complexion and reddish-brown hair. In addition, she had on a ring on the left hand and her ears being pierced. This allowed the FBI to create a photograph enhanced by computer that was not sexually explicit, to the public (Myers, 1992). Homicide Investigators from the Washington Heights police station issued out posters on the anniversary of the finding of Baby Hope. One such poster indicated that a $12,000 reward would be given to anyone with information on the g irl and a toll free number given at the bottom. October this year saw new light being shed into the investigation where a tip was received from a woman who claimed to know the sister of Baby Hope. This information enabled investigators to interview a number of people and this led to confirmation of the identity of Baby Hope’s mother as scientific evidence was used. The woman that gave the tip stated that she had spoken to a woman who had told her that her sister had been killed. After seeing the