Filenews 9 September 2024
Police confirmed today and scientifically that the newborn found yesterday at the cemetery of Saints Constantine and Helen in Nicosia, had died along with his twin brother during childbirth.
The issue caused an uproar yesterday, when it was realized that a dead newborn was outside a grave, with the Police immediately mobilizing and first examining all possibilities.
However, from the investigations made at the scene and what the priest of the cemetery reported, the infant seems to have been buried somewhat roughly, since there was no proper funeral and burial because it was unbaptized, resulting in animals exhuming it.
Today, ICF Nicosia investigators confirmed through Makarios Hospital the birth of the two children at the end of August, but they did not survive. In fact, on their hands there were special cards that indicate name and date of birth.
Because the infants were not baptized, an unwritten practice is followed where, with the consent of the parents, they are handed over to a priest – in this case the cemetery of Saints Constantine and Helen – to be buried.
This seems to be an issue, which is why the Police will now raise the issue officially, in order to create a protocol for handling such cases in all districts.
According to Filenews, unbaptized babies are buried in unspecified places within a cemetery, with no record anywhere where each infant is buried. So if it is dug up, no one knows which child it is. Also, the indication of the site is done by the priest, but the digging of the tomb is done by another person. In this case, the grave had not been dug to a sufficient depth, so animals with a little digging brought the infant to the surface.
As reported to us by the Police, in this case "we are lucky" because the infant was recently buried and there was a tag on his hand, something that greatly helped the investigations. If it were not for this element, then today everyone would be running to look for hidden births, murders and criminal acts.
