Parents charged after infant son found dead at Adelaide motel
Updated . First published at
Two parents have been charged with criminal neglect and concealing human remains after their infant son was found dead inside an Adelaide motel room.
Benjamin Nicholas Houghton, 40, and Yue Ning Lieu, 42, had been living at the Tollgate Motel in Glen Osmond.
Police are investigating the death of a baby found in an Adelaide motel room. 9News
The pair, who police say are the child’s parents, were arrested on Saturday.
Police discovered the baby’s body after attending the motel for a welfare check at about 9am.
They say he had been deceased for some time – believed to be up to a month – when his body was found.
A post-mortem examination conducted on Monday confirmed the infant was a boy aged around six to seven months old.
Investigators believe the man and the woman had been staying at the motel since arriving in South Australia at the beginning of the year and had not been in contact with state authorities during that time.
Police say they had previously been living in NSW and Victoria.
Emergency services descended on the motel in Adelaide’s foothills on Saturday, with neighbours reporting up to seven police vehicles in the car park.
Investigators spent at least five hours at the property, focusing their attention on one room.
Police discovered the baby’s body after conducting a welfare check on Saturday. 9News
The investigation has since been taken over by major crime detectives.
“This is our very sensitive, ongoing investigation,” SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said.
“The post-mortem was completed yesterday. Our investigators are continuing to work through it.”
The couple appeared before Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday in bedside hearings from hospital and did not apply for bail.
The investigation has since been taken over by Major Crime detectives. 9News
They were remanded in custody until their next hearing on May 3, 2027.
Police are appealing for anyone who stayed at the Tollgate Motel, particularly those with information about the occupants of room four, to get in touch.
Investigations continue.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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