Twenty years ago this month, a former soldier walking his dog at the rear of Harewood Crescent in Craigmillar discovered the body of a young child, naked and burned amongst discarded litter.
The baby had a shock of dark hair and was lying on his side, fists drawn up towards his chest near to a Mickey Mouse babygro and a petrol can.
The postmortem examination results were inconclusive, although officers confirmed that baby had been alive, for at least a couple of days.
At the time more than 30 officers set up a and a confidential phone-line, spoke to about 1,000 people, took 300 statements and delivered 1,000 letters to the local community appealing for information but despite extensive inquiries and massive media attention no-one ever came forward to claim the child and the parents remain unidentified.
Members of the local community chose the name Craig Millar and raised funds to purchase a headstone and flowers for the burial of the infant. More than 400 people attended Richmond Craigmillar Church for the funeral. This was conducted by minister Reverend Liz Henderson, along with Father Francis of St Theresa’s Roman Catholic Church. Craig was laid to rest in a tiny white coffin was surrounded by floral tributes and cuddly toys.
A local funeral director, who wanted to remain anonymous, donated a large four-sided granite obelisk to mark the spot where Craig was found.
In 2019 the stone was removed and stored safely to allow work to begin on the site for the new Castlebrae High School where a planned memorial garden will be constructed in partnership with the school and the local community to allow for reflection at spot where the obelisk stood.
Detective Chief Inspector Suzanne Chow said: “Craig’s death was investigated by Lothian and Borders Police, prior to the creation of Police Scotland. His death and the circumstances surrounding it were subject to extensive investigation.
“This investigation remains open and, should we receive any new evidence, further enquiries will be carried out. If you have information which could be relevant, no matter how small it may seem, please call 101 and help us get closure for all those affected by this tragedy.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
