Woman arrested in case of newborn baby found dumped in carrier bag in Northampton in 1982

• ITV News Anglia's Luke Keohane reports on a death that shocked the community more than 40 years ago.

Police have arrested a woman on suspicion of the murder of a newborn baby who was found abandoned in a carrier bag more than 40 years ago.

A major police investigation began after the body of a newborn baby girl was found in Northampton in May 1982.

Nobody has ever been prosecuted and the inquiry closed in 1993.

Police said a 57-year-old suspect was arrested on suspicion of murder on Tuesday morning.

It came after new evidence surfaced in 2023 following a cold case review by Northamptonshire Police, leading to this week’s arrest.

The suspect has since been released on bail pending further inquiries, said police.

Det Chief Insp Johnny Campbell said: “This has been an extremely complex investigation into events that happened more than four decades ago and a great deal of work has gone in to getting us to this point.

"Dozens of officers from both Northamptonshire Police and our colleagues in the region have been involved in the operation over the past 48 hours or more and I would like to thank all of them for their work."

He added the inquiry was "live and ongoing" and the force would make no further comment.

A decades long campaign by a former vicar and his wife led to the baby girl being given a headstone.

The grave lies in the church of St Mary the Virgin in Northampton, thanks to efforts from George Burgon, the former vicar and his wife Margaret.

"I promised her that she would not be forgotten" Mrs Burgon told ITV News Anglia.

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