On Tuesday, April 30, prosecutors announced they will not pursue criminal charges in the case of four newborns discovered in a South Boston apartment’s freezer in November 2022.
The Suffolk County District Attorney’s office determined the investigation had reached an impasse due to unresolved questions about the circumstances of the infants’ deaths.
The bodies of two boys and two girls, whose umbilical cords were still attached, were found wrapped in tin foil and stored in shoe boxes inside the freezer. Autopsies could not establish whether the babies were born alive and there were no apparent injuries or signs of trauma. The district attorney’s office described the case as “one of the most complex, unusual and perplexing” they have ever encountered.
Authorities identified the mother as Alexis Aldamir, now 69, who currently resides in a residential healthcare facility. Investigators obtained a DNA sample from Aldamir, confirming that she was the mother of all four babies. Additional testing linked them to a man who died in 2011, who was the father of a fifth child given up for adoption in 1982. Despite thorough investigations, the authorities were unable to find other birth records for Aldamir or find out whether the infants were ever alive.
The babies were discovered after family members cleaned out Aldamir’s apartment in November 2022. The DNA tests confirmed that all four were siblings, aged between 37 and 40 weeks at birth. Further, autopsy results did not reveal any signs of internal or external injuries.
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement that the investigation is now closed and that the case cannot proceed to trial due to a lack of substantial evidence. Aldamir was reportedly found unfit to stand trial after appearing disoriented during interviews and exhibiting severe cognitive problems. Investigators could not uncover any relevant information from her due to her inability to understand or communicate effectively.
Hayden acknowledged that many questions surrounding the infants’ births and deaths will remain unanswered. The investigation could not establish when or where the babies were born, if they were alive at birth, or the circumstances of their deaths. Additionally, investigators were unable to determine how Aldamir managed to conceal her pregnancies over the years.
Although the lack of clear evidence precludes criminal charges, the investigation into the infant’s deaths was linked to an unrelated homicide case that has since gone to trial. Further details about this connection have not been disclosed, and the district attorney’s office emphasized that they could not ethically pursue a case they believed had no chance of reaching a trial.