Missouri Man Finds Frozen Baby in Mom’s Freezer in St. Louis: ‘In My Freezer for 37 Years’

Stock photo of police tape. (Carl Ballou/Shutterstock)

A St. Louis man said he made a disturbing find inside his mother’s freezer.

Adam Smith said his mother lived in the same apartment complex for decades, and he recently moved back into her apartment to help her after her cancer diagnosis.

According to KSDK in a July 29 report, his mother died about a week ago, and Smith began going through her stuff.

He added to KMOV that he was cleaning out the freezer when he saw a box.

“I’m 37 and it has been in my freezer for 37 years and I was always told it was a wedding cake top,” Smith told the KSDK.

When he opened it, he found a frozen baby.

“It turns out it was a baby,” Smith said, adding that the child was wrapped in a pink fleece.

“It still had skin hair and everything, it was mummified,” he said. “After that, I freaked out, put it in the box and called police right away.”

The man said he never thought to look inside the box when he lived there.

“I’ve asked her several times, it was either a no-no conversation or blew me off. My mom has always been secretive about things about life,” he said.

According to an interview with a local reporter, he said the box was sealed in plastic.

Smith said that his mother had mentioned a sibling dying before his birth.

“We’re saying 46 or 47. That’s how long, I’m assuming it is my sister, been in a box in a freezer for this long,” Smith added.

After learning about the disturbing discovery, Smith had a range of emotions.

“I’m more confused, angry,” he said. “I just want to find closure, I want to find more answers.”

Police are still investigating.

According to KMOV, an autopsy is being conducted to determine the child’s cause of death.

Anyone with information can call the Homicide Division at 314-444-5371 or CrimeStoppers at 866-371-8477.

Facts About Crime in the US

Violent crime in the United States has fallen sharply over the past 25 years, according to both the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS).

The rate of violent crimes fell by 49 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to the FBI’s UCR, which only reflects crimes reported to the police.

The violent crime rate dropped by 74 percent between 1993 and 2017, according to the BJS’s NCVS, which takes into account both crimes that have been reported to the police and those that have not.

From 1993 to 2017, the rate of violent victimization declined 74 percent, from 79.8 to 20.6 victimizations per 1,000 persons age 12 or older,” the U.S. Department of Justice stated.

Both studies are based on data collected up to and including 2017, the most recent year for which complete figures are available.

The FBI recently released preliminary data for 2018. According to the Preliminary Semiannual Uniform Crime Report, January to June 2018, violent crime rates in the United States dropped by 4.3 percent compared to the same six-month period in 2017.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.