EXCLUSIVE: Chilling reason three siblings were abandoned by the same parents over 8 years

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/chilling-reason-three-siblings-were-36565681

Julia Banim Audience Writer

11:42, 18 Jan 2026Updated 11:42, 18 Jan 2026

As baby Elsa, the last of three siblings to be mysteriously abandoned on the streets of London, is adopted, experts speak with the Mirror about what might drive a person to leave a newborn outside in the freezing cold

Baby siblings Harry, Roman, and Elsa were all abandoned in strikingly similar ways(Image: PA)

Over the course of eight years, three baby siblings have been abandoned in East London, with their parentage remaining a troubling mystery.

Left in the same area in 2017, 2019 and 2024, respectively, siblings Harry, Roman and Elsa have now all been adopted, but officers remain completely in the dark as to who their biological parents could be. Now, Scotland Yard has stated its inquiries have been "exhausted”, while reiterating a plea for anyone with information to come forward. Last May, senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Jamie Humm, suggested the individual who abandoned the babies "did not want to be found", while asserting his belief that the mother "is vulnerable, is in danger, and is in a position where they feel that they are unable to come forward for whatever reason".

Youngest child Elsa, whose adoption was recently announced, is believed to have been just one hour old when she was found. The tiny newborn had been wrapped in a towel, inside a reusable shopping bag at the corner of Greenway and High Street South in East Ham, the freezing January conditions inspiring her namesake.

While many parents couldn't imagine leaving their child under such circumstances, it's believed likely that the person in question must have been in a desperate situation, while telling clues from the strikingly similar scenes paint a picture of their potential mindset.

Eldest sibling Roman was found in 2019(Image: PA)

Much like their little sister, the two older children were also discovered in public places, notably, "where someone might reasonably hope the baby would be found, while still allowing themselves to remain unseen", says Chartered Counselling Psychologist (BPS), Amanda Charles. Harry was discovered swaddled on Balaam Street in Plaistow in September 2017, while Roman was found in a children's play area near Roman Road, Newham, on a bitterly cold, snowy day in January 2019.

They had been wrapped in blankets. One was also inside a bag.

Speaking with the Mirror, she said: "The circumstances in which the babies were found are psychologically significant and difficult to sit with. Being left outdoors in winter, minimally wrapped, in situations where they could easily have died, points to severely compromised judgment and capacity rather than simple indifference. In trauma psychology, extreme fear, dissociation, or nervous-system collapse can drastically narrow perception and impair decision-making, even when some thread of care remains.

"At the same time, the use of public but exposed locations - wrapped in a towel, placed inside a shopping bag, left at the edge of a park or play area - suggests a deeply conflicted internal state. These are places where someone might reasonably hope the baby would be found, while still allowing themselves to remain unseen. That tension between concealment and exposure is where trauma shows itself most clearly: a wish for intervention alongside an inability to remain present or seek help."

Baby Elsa was found wrapped in a shopping bag(Image: PA)

Picking up on a pattern here, Ms Charles noted that the repeated abandonment, which she believes is more significant than the rarity of such an act, "suggests something more enduring than a single crisis point." She explained: "It points to a persistent internal and external state that never shifted enough for safety, visibility or coming forward to feel possible.

"A pattern like this is more likely to emerge in contexts of prolonged entrapment, extreme shame, fear of authorities, untreated psychological distress, domestic violence or coercive control. These states can fundamentally reshape decision-making, so that actions which look shocking or inexplicable to outsiders may feel like the ‘least harmful’ option to someone who believes there is no safe alternative."

While outsiders may view such decisions as 'pre-planned, Ms Charles emphasised that it isn't as simple as this, with the traumatised nervous system of somebody living under "chronic fear or control" meaning their sole focus ends up centring around remaining undiscovered, a goal that becomes "automatic rather than reflective" over time.

Experts have warned against jumping to any conclusions, or passing judgment on the unknown individual(Image: PA)

Police, desperately searching for answers, have established a complete DNA profile and have also examined hundreds of hours of CCTV footage. So far, and despite previously having offered a £20,000 reward, they've been unsuccessful in tracing the trio's mother.

Ms Charles has noted, however, the importance of not jumping to any conclusions when considering who may have left the babies out in the open. She remarked, "It’s also important to acknowledge that we don’t actually know who physically left the babies, especially in Elsa’s case, where she was found within an hour of birth.

"The public may assume it was the mother who carried out the abandonment, but it’s equally possible that someone else was involved and she was acting under pressure, panic or fear. Birth itself is an intense physical and psychological rupture, and for someone already operating in survival mode, whatever fragile coping strategy they were holding on to can collapse very quickly."

Last year, investigators were able to narrow their search down to around 400 properties that specialists believe the individual in question - who may or may not be their biological mother - could have travelled from. Unfortunately, this attempt proved unsuccessful.

Going forward, officers have stated that they "cannot discount" the possibility of a fourth child turning up in the future. Whatever happens, however, experts are in agreement that the unknown individual who has made this repeated choice should be treated with compassion, not judgment.

Child and educational psychologist Dr Emily Crosby told the Mirror: "This is an extremely devastating case, and whilst some may struggle to understand why a mother would abandon their children three times, it's important that we understand the reasons behind this through a psychological lens.

"Attachment theory helps us to understand the desire for an infant to develop a secure relationship with a key primary caregiver in order to survive. This later forms a template for future relationships. The mother in this context may have had her own childhood trauma, where perhaps she did not form a secure attachment, which resulted in her struggling to form such an attachment with her own children.

"We must remain compassionate towards the mother's own mental health and wellbeing, and the feelings of guilt and shame that she could present with, which makes it more difficult for her to come forward."