Gardaí say death of baby girl found unresponsive at Co Longford home is not being treated as suspicious

Results of postmortem have determined the course of Garda investigation

Gardaí were called to the Co Longford  home on Sunday.  Photograph: Alan Betson
Gardaí were called to the Co Longford home on Sunday. Photograph: Alan Betson

Gardaí have said that the death of a newborn baby girl at a family home in Co Longford is not being treated as suspicious.

Though the resources of an investigation were committed to the case, gardaí are now focused exclusively on preparing a file for the coroner.

The results of a postmortem on the deceased baby’s remains, which was concluded on Monday, have ruled out the need for a criminal investigation.

The baby girl was found at a residential property at a housing estate in Abbeylara on Sunday morning. The child’s parents were fully cooperative with the initial Garda inquiries, despite their ordeal, and gave detailed statements.

READ SOME MORE

In reply to queries late on Monday, Garda Headquarters confirmed the focus of its personnel was now on the preparation of a file for the coroner. That means the Garda’s role is now one of fact-finding, to aid the inquest process in determining the child’s cause of death.

“A deceased baby was removed to the mortuary at Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) at Crumlin where a post-mortem examination was carried out by the State Pathologist,” the Garda reply stated.

“Results of the post mortem are not being released for operational reasons, however the focus of An Garda Síochána now is the preparation of a file for the Coroner’s Court only.”

Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times

Jack White

Jack White

Jack White is a reporter for The Irish Times