Homicide police probing discovery of baby’s body in Alexander Heights stormwater drain

In short:

Police say they have serious health and welfare concerns for the mother of a baby boy whose body was found in a stormwater drain in Alexander Heights on Monday afternoon.

The newborn was discovered during routine cleaning works, and police believe his body had been there for several days.

What’s next?

The identity of the mother and child are unknown, and police are seeking information relevant to the case.

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Police say a baby whose body was found in a stormwater drain by workers in suburban Perth was a newborn boy who was thought to have been placed there in recent days.

Homicide detectives are continuing to investigate after the infant was found in the Alexander Heights drain on Monday afternoon.

The grim discovery was made by workers cleaning the drainage area on La Salle Road.

The premier said it was a “horrifying scenario”.

“The mother of that child must be incredibly distressed. Those workers that discovered the child’s body were confronted with the most distressing of circumstances.

“My heart goes out to everyone involved in this horrible, horrible series of events.

“This goes to the heart of everyone’s sense of humanity, a small child whose life has passed under tragic circumstances.”

A number of officers attended the scene on Monday afternoon, including some from the homicide squad.

Mother’s identity unknown

Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen Cleal from the Homicide Squad said there was no evidence to suggest the baby’s body had been washed through the drain.

“What we believe is the child was placed in the drain at that location on La Salle Road in Alexander Heights,” he said.

“Evidence suggests it is a newborn child. The evidence also suggests that the little boy came to be in that location only in recent days.”

Detective Cleal said the identity of the child’s mother was still unknown.

“We have serious concerns for the mother’s health, the mother’s welfare, and that is a priority for us,” he said.

“If you are watching, if you are listening, if you are that mother, please come forward and make yourself known to police. We would love to help you.”

Police are still trying to piece together the details of the baby’s death, and his identity.

“That is a question that we are trying to identify ourselves throughout this investigation which is why the priority for us is to speak with the mother of that child,” Detective Cleal said.

“There’s been a forensic examination at that scene which includes inside the stormwater drain, and those investigations and analysis of forensic evidence is ongoing.”

‘Chance discovery’

Police say maintenance workers were conducting routine checks and clearing the drains when they discovered the baby’s body.

“There was no information that sent workers to that drain, this was a chance discovery. They were very unprepared — not that you can prepare for a discovery like this,” Detective Cleal said.

He said it was a “distressing” scene for the workers, and for the first responders at the scene.

“Out of respect for them I won’t go into that too much, but I can say for them, that my heart goes out to them. It was a shocking and confronting discovery,” he said.

“We’re not robots. We are working through this as well and the welfare of the first responders is not taken lightly. Police, we are helping those first responders.”

Police are appealing to the public for any CCTV or information which may be relevant to the case.

“Any movement, any suspicious activity in the area, any information that anyone has whether you believe it’s significant or not, please let us know,” Detective Cleal said.

Neighbours have been hit hard by the incident, with resident Sarah saying she felt compelled to leave flowers at the scene.

“Even though it was so heartbreakingly sad of how the baby left this earth, while it was here it was still a human,” she said.

“It was someone’s child, it was someone’s grandchild, possibly someone’s sibling.

“It’s not just a baby in a drain.”

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story reported Premier Roger Cook’s comments on Tuesday, in which he incorrectly identified the baby as a girl whose body had been in the drain for a fortnight.

GRAPHIC: Bodycam video shows discovery of woman’s body in freezer

Default Mono Sans Mono Serif Sans Serif Comic Fancy Small CapsDefault X-Small Small Medium Large X-Large XX-LargeDefault Outline Dark Outline Light Outline Dark Bold Outline Light Bold Shadow Dark Shadow Light Shadow Dark Bold Shadow Light BoldDefault Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Default Black Silver Gray White Maroon Red Purple Fuchsia Green Lime Olive Yellow Navy Blue Teal Aqua OrangeDefault 100% 75% 50% 25% 0%Las Vegas Metro Police discovered the body of Monique Gilbertson while conducting a welfare check on her residence. Viewer discretion is advised. (Source: KVVU)

By Elaine Emerson, Rachel Zalucki and Amanda Alvarado

Published: Jan. 20, 2025 at 9:12 PM GMT+7

LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) – New body camera video shows officers discovering the body of a Las Vegas woman in her freezer during a welfare check.

Daniel Roush has been indicted on murder and other charges in the death of 68-year-old Monique Gilbertson, who Roush was living with at the time. Roush’s wife, Gina Roush, was also indicted on drug and burglary charges in connection with Gilbertson’s death, according to records.

The 44-minute video shows officers arriving at Gilbertson’s house for the welfare check and interacting with Roush. When first confronted, Roush repeatedly insists to officers, “I’ve been renting this property. I’ve been here since September.”

Roush later stated, “She has me house-sitting right now. I have paperwork that I’m supposed to be here.”

Text messages presented to the jury suggest that Gilbertson may have evicted Roush before her death.

“Good luck to you. I just can’t live with anybody. I’m so sorry,” Gilbertson texted Roush in October. “The sooner you come, the sooner we can get this over with.”

The video also shows the extensive search of the home and the discovery of Gilbertson’s body in a locked freezer, concealed by a cloth and other household items.

Officers called in a locksmith to open the locked freezer in the residence.

Once opened, an officer finds Gilbertson’s body inside. An officer continued to search the home, returning to the freezer area multiple times to look around, before showing other officers the discovery.

One of the officers told another at the scene that “there’s more than enough there” in terms of evidence.

Investigators believe Gilbertson’s body may have been in the freezer for more than four days, according to an arrest report.

According to an arrest report, Roush’s wife told officers that they provided Gilbertson with fentanyl to cause an overdose. However, Roush claims he discovered Gilbertson’s body in the home but gave conflicting statements on where she was found.

“I put her in the icebox because I didn’t know what to do,” Roush told police.

Prosecutors are putting the case up for review for the death penalty, according to court records.

Copyright 2025 KVVU via Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.