Mum's anguish over baby claims

Mar 20 2008 by Alex Moore, Rhondda Leader

FALSE allegations of burying a stillborn child in her front garden continue to haunt a Maerdy mother – a week after she was released without charge.

The bogus allegations centre on a memorial plot Samantha Haskins, aged 26, placed in her front garden after she suffered a miscarriage at seven weeks last November.

Police were told Miss Haskins had given birth to a stillborn child, and buried the baby in her garden without registering its details.

Miss Haskins said: “My 10-year-old daughter Paige has heard all kinds of things from other children in the schoolyard – that her mam’s going to prison, that she’s going to be put into care – so she is staying in Cardiff and doesn’t want to come back until she’s sure the taunts have stopped.

“If it doesn’t stop soon she’ll never come back and I’m going to have to leave. There are a lot of untrue rumours going around, and it’s too much to bear.”

At 12.30am on Tuesday, March 11, officers arrived at the home Miss Haskins shares with 27-year-old partner Spencer Wright, Paige and 11-month-old Elisha.

The couple were given only a few minutes to get ready to leave and were then taken from their Mona Place home to Ton Pentre Police Station.

Miss Haskins was then taken to the maternity department of the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, where the midwifery manager told officers about last year’s miscarriage and confirmed Miss Haskins had not given birth recently.

She was released without charge that evening after her 17-hour ordeal – but the fallout from the short-lived police investigation still haunts the family.

Miss Haskins said: “They dug up the memorial plot and put up a big tent like it was a murder scene, which gave the wrong impression. The tent was up for about two hours in the afternoon. There was a crowd of about 40 or 50 people who came to see what was going on. It’s scary to think that someone can make this kind of claim and have all this happen. Surely the police should have investigated more before they came around and uprooted everyone at my home.”

A South Wales Police spokeswoman said: “After receiving information from a member of the public, a small casket containing what appeared to be foetal remains were recovered from the front garden of a property in Maerdy.”

She added that a 27-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were taken in for questioning. The man was originally arrested on suspicion of concealing a birth.

Detective Inspector Nigel Cottle, of Ton Pentre CID, said: “The foetal remains were clearly at a very early stage of development, and we are satisfied no offences have been committed. We extend our condolences to the family and are now liaising with them to arrange for the remains to be laid to rest in a cemetery.”