Jury shown pictures of newborn baby's body

A JURY gasped as they were shown a picture of a dead baby boy which a policeman said he found with a plastic bag over its head next to a cardboard box.

Two of the eight women on the 15-person jury at the High Court in Livingston looked visibly upset as a picture of the baby was shown on court TV screens yesterday.

Grampian Police Constable Graeme Smith, 32, said he found the body in a common hallway on Fraserburgh High Street, as he was trying to contact Ineta Dzinguviena to speak to her after police received reports about a baby.

Dzinguviene, 26, is alleged to have asphyxiated her newborn, Paulius Dzingus, with clingfilm within her flat on the day he was born. She denies the charge.

PC Smith said police had been contacted by a Lithuanian woman, whom he named as Elge Liutaite, about a baby, and they went to Dzinguviene's flat to try to speak to her about the situation.

He said on entering the block of flats he rang the doorbell where Dzinguviene stayed but only three young children were inside.

Dorothy Bain, QC, prosecuting, asked: "Were you trying to establish if there was a baby on the premises?" He replied: "Yes".

He said he looked round the flat and could see no sign of the baby, and planned to check the bins outside the flat, but first looked in an alcove on the stairs.

He said: "There was a cardboard box and a binbag on top with clothes inside. On top of the bag was a blue canvas bag. I lifted it up and placed it on the cardboard box.

"It was pretty heavy. There was another blanket covering it, and I contacted a detective constable to let them know the blanket was from the maternity hospital.

"I opened it and within another plastic bag I saw the skin of a baby. I saw the chest area. There was a plastic bag over the baby's head. It was a disposable bag rolled up. It looked like a Tesco bag."

He said scene of crime officers came to take pictures of the house, as well as to take videos.

Ms Bain then told the jury she was to show a video, which would show the crime scene and the baby.

Judge John Beckett, QC, told the jury: "I'd just like to warn you to be prepared as it's a baby you're going to see."

The video jumped from the front door of the flat to a picture of the naked body of the baby.

The trial continues.