The Suffolk District Attorney announced Tuesday, in an unexpected move, that no criminal charges would be filed about the investigation into the discovery of four babies wrapped in tin foil inside a refrigerator in the Boston home of a woman who had “concealed” her pregnancies.
This investigation is complete. It was one of the most complicated, perplexing, and unusual investigations that this office had ever conducted. “While we have some answers to this case, many aspects of it will never be resolved,” said DA Kevin Hayden in a recent press release.
Boston police responded on the afternoon of November 17, 2022, to a call from a 911 service about a baby that was possibly inside a refrigerator. Officials said that the call was updated later to include multiple babies. The caller said that he made the horrifying discovery with his wife while they were cleaning out his sister’s South Boston apartment.
Alexis Aldamir, 69 years old, was found to be the owner and occupier of the apartment.
Four babies were found that day. All four babies were found frozen solid in shoeboxes wrapped in foil. DNA tests confirmed that the siblings were all sisters. The estimated gestational age was between 37-40 weeks.
Medical examiners reported that no scientific method was available to determine the length of time babies were frozen. The autopsy revealed no obvious signs of injury or internal trauma. The report noted that no food, milk, or formula was found in the stomachs of the babies.
The medical examiner found that the cause of death was “undetermined” for all the infants and could not determine definitively whether they were born alive.
The investigators located Aldamir at a residential care facility and obtained a court order for a DNA test. The DNA test confirmed that she was indeed the mother of all four babies.
Aldamir’s co-workers, who worked for an accounting firm in Boston between March 1980 and October 2021, described Aldamir as “a heavy-set woman with a tendency to wear loose-fitting clothes regardless of the seasons.” Investigators were told that the woman had no idea Aldamir was pregnant.
Additional DNA tests revealed that Aldamir gave birth to a baby girl in April of 1982 and that Aldamir was the father of four children.
Investigators found two forms of parental rights surrender, one signed by Aldamir while the other was signed by the man determined to be the father of the four babies.
During their investigation, the officials found that Aldamir and this man had five children together. They also determined that one of these children was adopted. Aldamir found the other four dead in his apartment in November 2022.
The investigators said they encountered several obstacles when trying to prove a crime.
Investigators have said that there must first be proof of the victims’ existence before homicide charges can be brought. The medical examiner must also determine the cause of death.
Investigators in this case cannot prove the babies’ existence, nor can they determine their cause of death.
The autopsy revealed no obvious signs of injury or trauma in the babies.
The investigators have said that third, because the father has now died, he can’t be charged with any crime.
Investigators also questioned Aldamir’s ability to stand trial.
Investigators say that when Aldamir later was questioned by police about the babies she had found in her apartment she “appeared to be confused and showed a lack understanding of where she was or who she was talking to.”
“A prosecutor’s office cannot ethically move forward with a case that, in good faith, it believes it cannot bring to trial. Here, based on the evidence obtained throughout the investigation, including the many unanswered questions about the cause of death of the four babies, prosecutors have determined that they will not be able to bring this case to trial. Therefore, this investigation will not result in criminal charges,” Hayden concluded.
