Mystery of baby boy found wrapped in 1910 newspaper under floorboards deepens

Mystery of baby boy found wrapped in 1910 newspaper under floorboards deepensAn inquest has opened into the death of a baby which was found wrapped in a newspaper from over 100 years ago after the skeleton was discovered under floorboards during a renovation.NewsLucy Thornton News Reporter and David Huntley13:32, 14 Apr 2026View 3 ImagesForensic officers at the scene after construction workers find a grim discovery under floorboards(Image: PA)A baby skeleton found with twine wrapped around its neck in an upstairs flat could have been a baby boy born as early as 1726, an inquest has heard, as questions around the infant's death remain unanswered.But mystery surrounds how the infant then ended up wrapped in a newspaper dated 1910. A coroner was told the remains had been confirmed as male by DNA profiling. The skeleton of a baby boy had been found under the floorboards in Bishop Auckland by contractors working at the property in July 2024.Today, an inquest into the death of the baby was formally opened at County Durham and Darlington Coroner's Court in Crook by Senior Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield.View 3 ImagesForensic officers arrive at the upstairs flat to investigate the baby found in an historic newspaper(Image: PA)READ MORE: 'Truly horrific' true crime documentary leaves viewers 'shocked to the core'READ MORE: Sir Keir Starmer 'refuses to intervene' on Rory McIlroy knighthood snub as calls growThe hearing heard the baby was born full term but it was not possible to determine whether it was stillborn or died in suspicious circumstances. Coroner's officer Stephanie Clough said the baby had been found with twine looped around it three times, with a knot and a further loop.The inquest heard: "The baby appeared to have a thin type of twine-style material wrapped around its neck." The skeleton had been wrapped in a newspaper called 'The Umpire' and was dated June 1910.The Umpire was a British Sunday newspape...