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Riddle of the box babies

Adam Derbyshire
14/ 5/2008

DETECTIVES hope an autopsy on the skeletal remains of two babies scheduled today (Thursday) will unlock the tragic secrets Margaret Guarino took to her grave.

It is believed the 75 year old hid the tiny children in toy boxes on top of a wardrobe in her bedroom for more than 50 years.

Her daughter Lucia Grime, 45, discovered the badly-decomposed bodies in Rowcon Close, Audenshaw in the maisonette she shared with her mum who died two years ago. The family always thought the boxes contained Christmas decorations.

It is unclear if the babies were stillborn but police hope the post-mortem investigation will yield some clues to how they met their fate. A pathologist, forensic scientist and anthropologist will examine the remains at Pendlebury children’s hospital today and attempt to extract a sample of DNA from the femur bones. Meanwhile hair taken from Ms Guarino’s hairbrush will confirm if she is the mother.

Detective inspector Derek Weaver said: "At this stage we are treating this inquiry with an open mind. It looks likely to be a family matter.

"The children are shocked, bewildered and surprised. Understandably it is a very traumatic time for them — it’s a tragic story. We hope DNA will show if the babies are related to each other, we just need to get to the bottom of it."

Ms Guarino, a twice-married mum-of-eight, lived at various properties across Tameside in the last 40 years before moving to Rowcon Close five years ago.

After she died in July 2006, Lucia remained in the property but only made the grisly discovery during a clear-out of her mum’s belongings on Friday. Inside a blue toy box and a pink doll’s box she found the remains which had been wrapped in towelling material, a coat and a copy of a national newspaper dated 26 November, 1956.

The family have asked for privacy and refused to comment further.

Neighbours in the area, which consist of a number of former council maisonettes from the 1960s, reacted to the discovery with shock. One said: "It’s really disturbing and not the kind of thing you expect to happen on your own street."

Father Vincent Cavey, of nearby St Mary’s Parish, Denton added: "I feel a great sympathy for someone who’s carried such a burden through their life. It must have been very difficult when those children were born. If this is a case of stillbirth we would always show the greatest sympathy but there may have been other reasons why they wanted to conceal this — maybe a sense of guilt which we would not wish on anyone. Many years ago this is the sort of thing people hid as there was more of a taboo attached to it, but in the many years I have been a priest I have not been aware of a similar case."

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