LOS ANGELES — DNA tests show two mummified infants found in a steamer trunk wrapped in 1930s newspapers were the children of a nurse who died 16 years ago — but the way they died may never be known, investigators said.
The remains were discovered in August by women cleaning an apartment building basement near MacArthur Park in Los Angeles.
The bodies were inside two leather doctor bags in a trunk that also contained ticket stubs from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
"Coroner's investigators believe the two babies were brother and sister. One was a fetus, while the other appeared to be a full-term baby," a police statement said Monday. Exact ages were not determined.
The female baby had thick brown hair and her legs were folded up to her chest.
Investigators could not determine when or how the children died. It was not known whether the mother miscarried or may have had abortions.
There were no signs of injury, and drug reports were inconclusive so the cause of death probably will never be known, the police statement said.
The trunk's owner was identified as Janet M. Barrie, a Scottish immigrant who was born in 1897 and worked as a nurse in Los Angeles before moving to Vancouver. Investigators linked the children to Barrie through a DNA sample from Barrie's niece, Marlene Brown of Alberta, Canada.
Barrie lived in the Westlake building for decades. She was a private live-in nurse for Mary Knapp, the wife of dentist George Knapp.
Barrie married Knapp after his wife died of breast cancer in 1964. He died four years later and she moved to Vancouver, where she died in 1994. Her ashes were placed in the same urn as the Knapp couple at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale.
OK, so the dead baby part is odd but everyone grieves differently. What really struck me was the last part. They were all buried together? I think I could make up a story that would make that seem less weird, but still...
In my corner of the world, I FINALLY got all the bulbs planted! Geez. I don't know why I was dragging my feet about that. I actually like yard work too.
We watched Iron Man 2 over the weekend. It was fun. You know I love Robert Downy Jr :-) And we tried to watch Amelia, as in Earhart. It was very slow and about 1/2 through it I had to bail...I know how ends though.
I also got the Christmas tree up in the sun room! Chuck's daughter was right...it makes me smile and I'm happy for the cheerfulness.
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