Placenta buried in cultural ritual, say police

The placenta was discovered on a path near the Spire and General hospitals in June 2023

The discovery of a human placenta on a path that prompted an eight-month police investigation was buried as part of a cultural ritual and likely dug up by a fox, police have said.

The placenta was found by members of the public off Dale Road in Southampton on 21 June, leading to concerns about the wellbeing of the mother and baby.

Hampshire police confirmed they had traced the family on Friday.

The force said the family had not seen any media appeals to come forward.

Speaking to the BBC, Ch Insp Marcus Kennedy said the mother and baby were both safe and well and that there was no criminal element to the case.

He said: “Where the placenta was buried, we suspect an animal, maybe a fox, has dug it up and moved it.”

Officers were still “learning and understanding” about the cultural significance of its burial, he added.

Ch Insp Marcus Kennedy led the police investigation

After confirming the discovery was human, investigators had spoken to local hospitals to find out who had given birth and which families had kept the placenta, Ch Insp Kennedy explained.

Teams also sifted through hours of CCTV and made door-to-door enquiries.

In December, following months of investigations, officers revealed they believed the mother to have had a west African background.

“Through DNA profiling of the placenta, we knew it came from a certain ethnicity which really helped us to try and find the family,” Ch Insp Kennedy said.

The force then narrowed their search to look at unregistered births in the area.

The senior officer said that when the force launched its investigation, it was about “care and not crime”, adding: “This was all about finding a mother and child safe and well.”

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