Md. Detectives Affected by Infanticide

The public image of law enforcement officers is one that is frequently embraced with the impression that they are distant, callous, unfeeling, and reveal no emotions. Much of that supposition is based on a genuine lack of specific knowledge concerning the nature and extent of the duties, dangers, and challenges that police officers face on a daily basis and is supplemented by, oftentimes, fictitious representations that emanate from television and movies. To the contrary, police officers are people, too, and they have feelings, emotions, and lives like everyone else. Though they may not put them on public display and openly share them with the world, they experience some of life's most difficult and painful contests both on a professional as well as a personal level.

Police officers are in constant battle fighting crime by responding to calls for service, conducting investigations, pursuing leads, chasing down perpetrators, making arrests, and testifying in court. In many instances, they deal with horrible crimes that have devastating impact on victims, the community, and even themselves. In particular, homicide squads are routinely dealing with shocking, gruesome, and unfathomable crimes.

Recently, the homicide detectives in the Prince George's County Maryland Police Department found themselves dealing with a crime that was, to say the least, unfathomable. Detective Nelson Rhone received a phone call one Sunday morning to be told that a live baby was found in a trash bag by some laborers, but the baby died later that day. An anonymous call to police later resulted in the arrest of the baby's mother.

Sadly, no one came forward to claim the body after the thirty day waiting period. Rather than having the child buried in a pauper's grave, the detectives proactively informed the medical examiner they wanted to take responsibility for the baby and obtained a letter from a funeral home indicating it was willing to accept care and custody of the body.

The baby, born on October 12, 2008, was given a name by detectives - Maria del Pilar. When detectives approached a local funeral home and explained the sad situation, the funeral home was immediately and willingly responsive to their needs and provided a casket and a hearse. A local florist followed suit by donating flowers for the funeral service. "The merchants are so willing to help you," says Det. Rhone, the lead investigator on the case. He explains it was difficult to shop at Wal-Mart to buy clothing for the baby's burial, but he purchased a pink outfit with pink booties.

A number of detectives in the homicide unit as well as Major Daniel Dusseau of the Criminal Investigations Division and Major Andrew Ellis, Commander of the Press Office, attended the funeral service that was held on November 16, 2008. "No one else cares. It became personal for each of us. To me, I thought it was something that had to be done," says Det. Rhone.

This is the third case of this type that Prince George's County homicide detectives have dealt with wherein they named a child, received donations from funeral homes and florists, and attended a funeral service for an infant victim of crime. "Everyone just assumes that we roll through these cases. To see them like that, you think tons of people would love to have adopted them," says Detective Kelly L. Rogers.

Sgt. Richard Fulginiti, who heads the homicide unit, acknowledges that despite the fact that there are no rookie officers in the unit and they are accustomed to dealing with homicide to the extent they can be, he acknowledges a child is different because there is an air of seriousness and an air of being more somber. He admits that detectives are more bothered by the fact that the victim is a baby. "It hits home a little bit more because they have children," he says, but indicates that no one has ever come to him and said they cannot cope with it.