Mum, 32, arrested after ‘killing three-month-old son before faking his kidnapping from pushchair’ in bombshell twist
THE mum of a baby found dead by a river in Germany has been arrested for murder after allegedly faking his pram kidnap.
In a bombshell twist, Dijana L. is now accused of killing three-month-old Adrian and leaving his body on the outskirts of Rankbach in Baden-Württemberg.
Ms L, 32, told cops last Thursday that her infant son had been snatched from his pushchair by a stranger.
But cops found no evidence to suggest the baby was abducted and he was later discovered a third of a mile from their home.
The mum then became a suspect and officers believed she fabricated the plot to cover her crime.
Ms L reportedly only realised she was pregnant in her fifth month, and Adrian was born prematurely.
They lived in a cramped and run-down flat, and a neighbour reported hearing the mum argue with her ex-boyfriend constantly.
They said: “It was always loud there, chaotic.”
A new boyfriend would occasionally stay, but was not a stable presence.
Her ex-boyfriend’s mum also lived in the house, and former colleagues said Ms. L was desperate to leave.
They told BILD: “Dijana tried to find a better apartment for herself and her new boyfriend. She wanted to escape the cramped conditions and end the chaos.”
Police set up a homicide unit and a “Waage” task force to aid their investigation.
A 3D model has also been used to assist officers, according to German media outlet Stimme.
Emergency responders discovered the small body lying in or near the Rankbach stream at around 1.45pm on Friday.
Cops identified the body as three-month-old Adrian, who had been reported missing at 11.30pm on June 18.
The boy’s mother had taken him to the Rewe supermarket, around 800 metres away from her home in Malmsheimer Straße.
His grandmother told Bild: “My daughter came home from shopping, she had bags with her and wanted to carry them up to the second floor.”
She left the boy in his stroller on the pavement in front of the house, but claimed he was gone when she returned.
According to her initial statement, a stranger snatched the child while she was inside.
A huge manhunt was launched immediately after the missing persons report was filed.
Drones, helicopters, firefighters and 40 rescue dogs were deployed to scour the area for any sign of the missing baby.
The soaring temperatures in the region added an extra layer of terror to the search.
Cadaver dogs – trained to sniff out decomposing bodies – were part of the operation.
Police began at the scene of the crime and worked outwards in a circular pattern.
The search was called off after the discovery of the deceased infant the next day, on June 19.
