Missouri Man Cleans His Mom’s Freezer, Finds A Frozen, Mummifed Baby In A Cardboard Box

A St. Louis man was cleaning out his mother’s freezer when he discovered the frozen, mummified remains of a baby in a cardboard box, St. Louis’ KMOV-TV reports. Police estimate that the infant had been in the freezer for two decades.

Adam Smith says that for at least 20 years, there was a cardboard box in the back of his mom’s freezer, and that no one ever talked about it. However, after Smith’s mother died of cancer, he and his family members have been working on cleaning up her house and getting rid of unnecessary items.

He was discussing the operation with a family member when the subject of the mystery box in the freezer came up.

“This box has been in every freezer, in every home that we lived in for my entire life,” he said. According to USA Today, the box, which took up a quarter of every freezer the family ever owned, was always present but never talked about.

WARNING: The following paragraph contains content that may be disturbing to some readers.

Smith opened up the freezer and made his way to the mystery box, moving aside the frozen vegetables and pot pies. Inside was a pink fleece blanket. Then, he saw a human leg. “I grabbed the leg and I pulled it up, and I sort of unraveled and I could see the baby’s head, with hair,” he said.

Smith immediately called the police.

Baby found dead in St. Louis home may have been in freezer for 2 decades https://t.co/nvcYkpEqMR #KMOV pic.twitter.com/zK5b58t6fw

— KMOV (@KMOV) July 30, 2019

Smith said that the homicide detective he spoke to, who has undoubtedly seen his share of things in his career, quipped, “This is a good one.”

Smith thinks his mother had something to do with the baby’s death. He said that as a child, his mom told him that he had a sibling who died before he was born. Sometimes, she would get sad and say things such as, “My oldest child would have been 21 today,” and that her name was Jennifer.

Back in St. Louis, an autopsy is scheduled on the infant to determine a cause of death. Smith also gave the homicide department a sample of his DNA, in the event it may prove useful.

Meanwhile, Smith is concerned about what other secrets he may find in his mother’s home. He said that after discovering the baby, he picked up a sock, felt something in it and began fearing the worst. Fortunately, he said, it was just a pack of cigarettes she’d been hiding.