Greater Manchester Police praise local media for sensitive reporting after dead baby found in Heywood

The scene where baby Pearl was found

Greater Manchester Police has praised local media coverage for sensitive reporting after a newborn baby was found dead in Heywood at the start of April.

At around 7.10am on Wednesday 4 April 2018, police were alerted to the body of a baby in woodland near to Peel Lane in Heywood.

https://www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/117717/newborn-babys-body-found-in-heywood-field

Results from forensic analysis so far have identified that the baby is a girl and was extremely young, most probably new-born. She is also most likely to be Caucasian but mixed heritage cannot be ruled out.

According to PR Week, Detective Chief Inspector Lewis Hughes, of GMP’s Major Incident Team, described local media reports as ‘balanced’, whilst national headlines opted for sensationalist headlines, such as The Sunday Times’ “Mystery death of ‘Baby Pearl’ evokes Victorian age.’

DCI Hughes said: "I lost a lot of trust in the journalist and was concerned about the impact on the investigation. We couldn’t let this report create a barrier so we worked with the local media, which provided a balanced report. They understood the need to be sensitive to support the work we were doing."

Despite extensive enquiries by detectives – supported by a behavioural psychologist – including national DNA database searches, the parents of Pearl, particularly her mother, have still not been identified.

He added: “The challenge has been getting the appeals out with the right messages and to avoid sensational reporting. It is a very emotional case and our local media relationships have really helped."