Body of baby boy found inside freezer as neighbours hear anguished screams – World News

The body of three-month-old Kevin John Patten was found inside a chest freezer at his grandparents’ home in Corowa, Australia, as neighbours were startled by panic-stricken screams

The body of a baby boy was found wrapped in plastic sheeting inside a chest freezer.

Days earlier, “troubled” mum Kylie Patten had posted a disturbing picture of her infant child on Facebook with images of satanic demons and insects overlaying his face.

A relative had alerted police about their concerns for three-month-old Kevin John Patten’s welfare before officers made the tragic discovery on Wednesday evening.

A 40-year-old woman was arrested but later released without charge.

During background checks, investigators have reportedly found Ms Patten’s own twin brother died when he was just four months old.

Neighbours on the quiet street in Corowa, around 40 miles from Albury on the New South Wales-Victoria border in Australia, heard anguished screams at around 10pm on Wednesday.

The freezer was seized as evidence around 3pm on Thursday and the family has vacated the property, which remains a crime scene.

Local detectives have been joined by the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad to set up Strike Force Walumil as they probe the infant’s death.

Forensic officers were again seen at the house on Friday, searching the back garden.

Inside the home, investigators have had to fight their way through hordes of clutter, including cat carriers, car wheels and old plants.

Mourners have laid flowers outside.

After Kevin’s birth in November, Ms Patten had flooded her social media page with photos of her newborn and regularly charted his short life.

The latest post was two weeks before his death in which she described him as a “cutie”.

In March last year, she posted a photo of a positive pregnancy test and wrote: “Mummy loves you.”

“Proud, looked so damn well cutie, had to…” she wrote on January 6 alongside snaps of the little boy looking up at her helplessly.

Most of her posts were liked only by herself.

At other times, she posted about her cats and kittens and in one she uploaded a photo of late sibling Darren’s grave, writing: “I still miss my twin brother.”

Ms Patten – described as having alleged mental health problems – is understood to have been living with her parents Wayne and Sue for the last six months.

It is at their address in Church Street that Kevin’s body was found.

Until the final months of her pregnancy, however, she lived in a different house across the town on her own, but with the property owned by her parents, according to reports.

Neighbours there said there had long been concerns over her living conditions and erratic behaviour.

“I thought I’d be able to help when she had the baby, but she moved away. That poor little boy,” one local told the Daily Mail.

The grass was said to be knee-high, with fears there may have been snakes living in it.

The home was also alleged to be overrun with cats and kittens, some of which died and photos show a squalid living space.

Ms Patten has two older daughters from a previous marriage, the oldest around 24 with a child of her own.

Wayne and Sue are well-known shopkeepers in the town, with the community shaken by the tragedy.

“We’re devastated, the whole town is, it’s a shocking thing to happen. We’re such a close-knit community,” one resident said.

Ms Patten gushed in a Facebook post about Kevin’s birth on November 16.

On January 6 she uploaded what would prove to be the final photos of her son, including one of him sleeping in her lap.

Kevin’s father is understood to live out of town and was only informed of his child’s birth a few weeks ago.

Just weeks before announcing she was pregnant, Ms Patten posted a text exchange during what appeared to be the couple’s break up.