Newborn found dead in Bari in a cot, autopsy reveals the hypothesis as to the cause of death due to hypothermia

Il newborn found died a Bari last January 2nd in the thermal cradle of the church San Giovanni Battista would have died for hypothermiaaccording to the first results of theautopsy. The Bari prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation for manslaughter against the parish priest and the technician who installed the cradle in 2014.

Newborn baby dies in Bari, autopsy results

L’autopsy therefore seems to confirm the initial hypotheses, which envisaged thehypothermia as the probable reason for death.

The examination on the body of newborn found died on January 2nd in the thermal cradle a Bari was performed at the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Polyclinic.

Don Antonio Ruccia is under investigation for manslaughter

It was carried out by Professor Biagio Solarino, and he confirmed that the child, according to initial analyses, would have had less than a month to live.

The investigation into the parish priest and the technician

In the meantime, the Bari Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation into homocide negligentinvolving both the parish priest, don Antonio Rucciaand the technician who intervened on the thermal cradle.

The accusation went from child abandonment against unknown persons to manslaughter, a change in perspective resulting from the interrogations of the parish priest and the technician.

The discovery of the dead newborn

The newborn’s body was discovered by chance by Roberto Savarese, owner of a funeral home, who was in the church for a funeral around 9:30 in the morning.

“When I entered the room where the cradle is located, I couldn’t believe my eyes: I felt very sorry,” Savarese told the Messengerassuming that the little one was left alone and in the cold for a long time.

The church’s thermal cradle, active since 2014, had already saved two newborns in the past, the first in 2020 and the other in 2023, but a possible malfunction is now at the center of the investigation.

In particular, the checks also focus on what happened in December, when a blackout in the parish required a technical intervention, and investigators are checking whether this contributed to the failure.

Don Ruccia declared that he had not received any alarm signals, as expected from the operation of the thermal cradle and which had already happened in the past in two similar episodes.

Photo source: ANSA