A FAMILY grieving the death of their mother made the shocking discovery of the remains of a baby boy preserved in a box while clearing her home.

An inquest at Solberge Hall, near Northallerton heard today the baby would have been born in the 1960s but extensive testing could not determine whether he had died before or after birth, nor the cause of death.

However there was no evidence of injury or trauma to the remains of the baby boy, who is believed to have been born at full term gestation.

The three adult children of Carol and Melvin Thompson, of Romanby, Northallerton, found the box of remains following the death of Mrs Thompson on January 25 this year.

On Saturday, February 3, they were clearing their mother’s home in Dexta Way, Northallerton, and found the box in a cupboard under the stairs containing the remains of a baby.

They contacted police, and what followed was a complicated investigation into the identity of the baby.

Detective Sergeant Matthew Wilkinson said the evidence strongly suggested the baby was the child of Carol and Melvin Thompson.

He said: “The DNA gives an extremely strong indication that the baby is the biological child of Mr and Mrs Thompson.

“Also within the box were several envelopes with postmarks dated August 1968, and forensic tests suggest the baby was put in the box around the time of the birth.

“We also has the clothes wrapping the remains tested and they were dated from late 1950s to mid 1960s.”

The inquest heard during the police investigation, Mr Thompson could not account for the pregnancy or the birth.

Mr and Mrs Thompson were married in 1968 and went on to have three children in 1969, 1971 and 1979.

The couple divorced in 1996, but still lived in same home until 2003, and Mrs Thompson moved to Dexta Way in 2004 until her death in January 2018.

Coroner John Broadbridge gave an open conclusion saying this had been the “most distressing” case he had dealt with in 25 years.

To the family he said: “I can only start to imagine the pain you must have gone through in learning about this.

“For Mrs Thompson, it is desperately sad she had to carry that secret.”