Autopsy on baby
reveals few clues

The body was found in the side
garden of a home in Kalihi

The autopsy of a female baby found buried in a Kalihi yard provided few clues for investigators yesterday, and more tests are scheduled to determine whether it was born alive.

The Honolulu Medical Examiner's Office said additional tests could take six to eight weeks. Officials are not certain how long the body had been buried.

The autopsy also did not reveal any cause of death or whether it was a fetus or a full-term baby.

The body was found Thursday afternoon in the garden of a home at 1610 Owawa St. Three men and three women -- almost all unrelated -- rent the two-story home.

Homicide detectives are investigating the case and have taken DNA samples from the home's tenants.

Until more tests can be done to determine whether the baby was born alive, police are investigating the case as an abuse of a corpse.

The home's owner, who stops by the house twice weekly to work on the yard, found the remains about 1 p.m. while gardening on the side of the house.

The homeowner, who asked that her name be withheld, said she uncovered the body while moving dirt, which seemed to have been recently disturbed.

The body was in a shallow grave about 10 inches deep.

At first the homeowner thought it was a cat, but called neighbors over to help her inspect it. The body was wrapped in a blue shirt, possibly belonging to a woman, she said.

As she stepped back, she said, her neighbors prodded the bundle with a stick and uncovered an arm.

Police were called about 1:20 p.m. No arrests have been made in the case.

The homeowner said she did not recall any of the home's tenants being pregnant.

"The whole thing is just shocking," said the homeowner. "I cannot even imagine what to think."

She said the home's tenants are shaken, and some are having difficulty dealing with the discovery.

She also did not want to speculate on whether the baby seemed to be fully developed.

There have been a few similar cases in the islands in recent years. In 2002 a Kauai couple was arrested after their reportedly stillborn baby was buried in a remote valley. The baby's father was charged with concealing the corpse of an infant.

Last year, police investigated the death of a 4- to 5-month-old fetus, which was found in a cooler of an 18-year-old homeless woman who lived in a car with a male companion in Kalihi.