GRAAFF-REINET NEWS - An inquest docket has been opened by the Graaff-Reinet Detectives' Unit following the discovery of the body of a newborn baby in a cupboard the evening of Tuesday 11 September.

According to Captain Bradley Rawlinson, Graaff-Reinet police spokesperson, they were called to the residence in Kingwill Street, Graaff-Reinet after 6pm shortly after the discovery.

The body of the baby, wrapped in a towel and placed in a box, was found in a cupboard in a 22-year-old woman's bedroom. It is believed that the young woman gave birth to the child on Sunday 8 September, and that the baby was then hidden in the cupboard.

"When the woman's parents arrived home, they suspected that something was wrong and searched her room," Rawlinson said. "It is then that they found the body and contacted the police."

Rawlinson added that an autopsy will be done this week to establish whether the baby was stillborn.

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