happycats
January 31st, 2008, 05:08 PM
OMG what is wrong with people???!! SICK!!!
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/01/31/4803655-sun.html
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Thu, January 31, 2008
Whimper saves babyPasserby finds 8-month-old girl left to die in frigid stairwell
By ROB LAMBERTI AND JONATHAN JENKINS, SUN MEDIA
Do you recognize this baby? If so, police want to hear from you.
It was a whimper that saved her life.
Toronto Police say a shopper using the concrete stairwell of a two-level garage at the Finch-Leslie Square Mall first thought she walked past a doll lying face down.
But as she continued walking the "doll" whimpered, said Staff-Sgt. Don Cole of 33 Division. The passerby grabbed the eight-month-old girl and called police.
"If she would have been left for several more hours, it clearly would be a homicide, and this is why we're concerned for the safety of the parents and any other siblings," Cole said.
Today, police released photographs of the clothing the little girl was wearing when she was found.
Cole said yesterday police are looking for a green 1997 to 2000, four-door Ford Escort that was caught on surveillance video. The camera also shows someone leaving the baby in the stairwell about two hours before she was found at 12:30 p.m.
Cole said the video shows some of the injuries -- bruises, scrapes and a bloody nose -- that covered the baby's body.
Late last night, Cole said they were withholding a description of the person seen abusing the baby on the video because police were hoping he or she would turn themself in.
The child also showed signs of exposure from the -14C temperature in the stairwell, but has been treated at hospital and is in good condition.
With huge brown eyes and thin, frizzy dark hair, the adorable tot was not dressed for the extreme weather.
"Nothing, dumped in a stairwell ... dressed in a jumper, face down on a concrete floor, not dressed for the weather," Cole said.
COUPLE OF SHIRTS
"Green hat, and that's basically it. Just a couple of shirts underneath that."
The frigid stairwell is barren, with only a lone security camera perched above where the baby was found.
A crumpled Chinese restaurant flyer and the stale smell of urine were all that remained.
"Luckily, the kid had whimpered a little bit as the witness was about to leave the stairwell," Cole said. "It startled her and she went back and said, 'Holy cow! This is a baby.'
"There's a stroke of luck here."
Peter Ng, who runs a pharmacy in the mall, said the area was quite busy around the time the baby was found.
"You don't want to think that a baby was being abused," Ng said. "To think it happened here, right on our doorstep. You hear of babies being abandoned and you think it would happen somewhere else, far away."
He said police had stopped by his shop and asked if he had heard or seen anyone having an argument or family fight of any kind, but he said he hadn't.
By 8 p.m., police had wrapped up their work at the scene and taken down their command post, concentrating instead on the search for the Escort.
Initially, police were reluctant to release the make of the vehicle because they didn't want to jeopardize their investigation, but at a press conference late last night Cole said it was necessary to share more information with the public in the hopes someone would come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.
Previous story: Major storm takes aim at GTA
Next story: Cold wave hits T.O.
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2008/01/31/4803655-sun.html
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thu, January 31, 2008
Whimper saves babyPasserby finds 8-month-old girl left to die in frigid stairwell
By ROB LAMBERTI AND JONATHAN JENKINS, SUN MEDIA
Do you recognize this baby? If so, police want to hear from you.
It was a whimper that saved her life.
Toronto Police say a shopper using the concrete stairwell of a two-level garage at the Finch-Leslie Square Mall first thought she walked past a doll lying face down.
But as she continued walking the "doll" whimpered, said Staff-Sgt. Don Cole of 33 Division. The passerby grabbed the eight-month-old girl and called police.
"If she would have been left for several more hours, it clearly would be a homicide, and this is why we're concerned for the safety of the parents and any other siblings," Cole said.
Today, police released photographs of the clothing the little girl was wearing when she was found.
Cole said yesterday police are looking for a green 1997 to 2000, four-door Ford Escort that was caught on surveillance video. The camera also shows someone leaving the baby in the stairwell about two hours before she was found at 12:30 p.m.
Cole said the video shows some of the injuries -- bruises, scrapes and a bloody nose -- that covered the baby's body.
Late last night, Cole said they were withholding a description of the person seen abusing the baby on the video because police were hoping he or she would turn themself in.
The child also showed signs of exposure from the -14C temperature in the stairwell, but has been treated at hospital and is in good condition.
With huge brown eyes and thin, frizzy dark hair, the adorable tot was not dressed for the extreme weather.
"Nothing, dumped in a stairwell ... dressed in a jumper, face down on a concrete floor, not dressed for the weather," Cole said.
COUPLE OF SHIRTS
"Green hat, and that's basically it. Just a couple of shirts underneath that."
The frigid stairwell is barren, with only a lone security camera perched above where the baby was found.
A crumpled Chinese restaurant flyer and the stale smell of urine were all that remained.
"Luckily, the kid had whimpered a little bit as the witness was about to leave the stairwell," Cole said. "It startled her and she went back and said, 'Holy cow! This is a baby.'
"There's a stroke of luck here."
Peter Ng, who runs a pharmacy in the mall, said the area was quite busy around the time the baby was found.
"You don't want to think that a baby was being abused," Ng said. "To think it happened here, right on our doorstep. You hear of babies being abandoned and you think it would happen somewhere else, far away."
He said police had stopped by his shop and asked if he had heard or seen anyone having an argument or family fight of any kind, but he said he hadn't.
By 8 p.m., police had wrapped up their work at the scene and taken down their command post, concentrating instead on the search for the Escort.
Initially, police were reluctant to release the make of the vehicle because they didn't want to jeopardize their investigation, but at a press conference late last night Cole said it was necessary to share more information with the public in the hopes someone would come forward.
Anyone with information is asked to call 416-808-3300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-8477.
Previous story: Major storm takes aim at GTA
Next story: Cold wave hits T.O.