MOTHER CONCEALS BABY’S DEATH THROUGH A FALL

Grey River Argus, 8 November 1949, Page 4

MOTHER CONCEALS BABY’S DEATH THROUGH A FALL

Story of Kidnapping Breaks Down (Rec. 5.5 p.m.) NEW YORK Nov 6. The body of six weeks old baby, Stephen Komorek, who was reported kidnapped on Friday, was found today floating in a near his parents home in Clayville in New York State. The mother, Mrs Stella Komorek, who is aged 27, told the police that a man snatched the child from its crib, and made off with it, in a ramshackle car, driven by another man, after he had knocked her down, when she pursued him barefooted through snow. The father Henry Komorek, aged 34 a factory worker, made a radio and a newspaper appeal yesterday, begging the kidnapper not to harm his'son. He also gave the baby’s feeding formula. The police had stated that they were puzzled by the absence of any ransom note, and by the mothers inabil.ty to describe the kidnapper. An autopsy showed that the infant had died from a fractured skull, and brain haemorrhage. The coroner said that the fatal blow could have been accidental, or intentional. The body was clothed and swathed in blankets and it. had been placed in a bag. The mother and the father both collapsed when the body was recovered within sight of their home. They had, had one other son who was killed in a traffic accident four years ago. The baby Stephen was to have been baptised yesterday. The district Attorney-General and the State Police inspector resumed the questioning of Mrs Komorek after the autopsy.

Mother Admits Concocted Story (Rec 9.55 p.m.) NEW YORK Nov 6. Mrs Stella Komorek tonight admitted that her six weeks old baby Stephen was killed when she accidently dropped him she said that she had concocted a kidnapping story to conceal the baby’s death from her husband. She was released by the coroner, who ruled that the death was accidental. Mrs Komorek confessed that sue dropped the baby while feeding him. She discovered he was dead when she picked him up. Then she went to a cellar, placed the body in a oag and threw it into a nearby creek. “I don’t know why I did it” She said.