Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce have discussed theories behind the mystery of three newborns abandoned by the same parents on the Mail’s podcast The Reaction.
The two hosts discussed the case which saw a trio of children, who were all full siblings, dumped in shopping bags in London parks over seven years.
It was confirmed this week in Family Court that the three youngsters, two of whom had been adopted and the other in foster care, would be re-united again in the future.
When discussing the story, Vine felt there was ‘something really sinister going on’ and questioned with Pierce what situation the mother must have been in to abandon the children.
Both asked whether the woman could have been in a ‘Fritzl situation’, referencing the case of the 88-year-old Austrian who held his daughter Elisabeth captive in his cellar in the town of Amstetten for 24 years between 1984 and 2008, raping her thousands of times and fathering her seven children.
Vine told the Reaction: ‘There’s obviously something really sinister going on. Yeah, it’s very odd…. Is she [the mother] leaving them to be protected from whoever it is that is abusing her.
Co-host Pierce then asked: ‘Could it be incestuous? Is it a Fritzl situation? Fritzl who kidnapped his own daughter and impregnated her repeatedly.
Vine responded: ‘He [Fritzl] did so on several occasions. It’s so frightening to think if that is what is going on, it’s going on in the middle of London. It’s happened across a period of seven years.’
Pierce also questioned whether the mother had been involved in a ‘coercive relationship’ or ‘some form of enslavement’.
He said: ‘First of all, I thought she was in some form of enslavement or something. Is this a coercive relationship, and is she abandoning the child at the earliest opportunity?
‘Look, she could, of course, have had them adopted, but she’s putting them in a park and they’re being rescued.
He added: ‘Somebody must know her. Somebody must observe unless, of course, she is imprisoned in a cellar like brittle.
‘The judge involved in this case said it was important this sort of information was put in the public. Judge Carol Atkinson said it’s an issue of great public interest, as babies are rarely abandoned in modern Britain, certainly not three from the same parents in a space of seven years. What sort of health is she in mentally.’
DNA tests have since shown that the child, who was called Elsa by hospital staff after the character from Frozen, is a full sibling of baby Harry who was found abandoned in a park in Plaistow in 2017 and baby Roman who was found in a park in Newham in 2019.
Police are now hunting for the parents of the three tots, with cops saying at the time it was ‘highly likely’ Elsa was born after a ‘concealed pregnancy’.
The Family Court has heard that the children – whose names have now been changed – will all know that they are full siblings, and there are plans for them to have some form of contact as they grow up.
Police have said they are continuing to look for the children’s’ parents, with officers believing a woman seen in the area just before Elsa was discovered by a dog walker might have vital information.
The female was wearing a large, dark-coloured coat with a light-coloured scarf or hood around her neck, and was carrying a rucksack.
Speaking a day after Elsa was found Chief Superintendent Simon Crick, local policing commander for north-east London, said the child was believed to be black or mixed race and urged the mother to make herself known.
He said: ‘We are extremely concerned for her welfare as she would have been through a traumatic ordeal and will be in need of immediate medical attention following the birth.
‘Trained medics and specialist officers are ready to support her and we urge her to get in touch by phone or walk into the nearest hospital or police station. If you are the baby’s mother, please know that your daughter is well. No matter what your circumstances, please do seek help.’
Sarah Vine and Andrew Pierce bring their own no-holds-barred opinions, insights and reaction (clue is in the title) to the biggest stories of the week. New episodes every Wednesday.