2 infant skeletons from 1930s found in steamer trunk

LOS ANGELES - Two infant skeletons wrapped in 1930s newspapers and placed in doctor's bags were found in an unclaimed steamer trunk by a woman cleaning out the basement of a 1924 building that's being converted to condominiums, authorities said.

The skeletons, believed to be decades-old remains of fetuses or infants, were discovered late Tuesday in the 4-foot-tall green trunk inscribed with the initials JMB.

Also found in the trunk were cigarettes, a green bowl, photos, letters, a book club membership certificate inscribed Jean M. Barrie and ticket stubs from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics.

The remains were found in the four-story brick building near MacArthur Park, just a few miles west of downtown Los Angeles.

The larger skeleton, the size of a newborn, was wrapped in a Los Angeles Times dated 1934. A smaller skeleton was wrapped in a newspaper dated 1932, said Gloria Gomez, property manager of the co-op for the last 10 years.

She and friend Yiming Xing, 35, forced the trunk open with a screwdriver, she said.

Coroner's officials will try to determine how the babies died, check missing children reports and try to find relatives and neighbors who might know what happened.

Everyone in the building had been given until Aug. 14 to get their things out. The condo board told Gomez she could have anything that wasn't claimed. Gomez and Xing checked two unclaimed trunks and they were empty. They tried several keys on the last one, but finally had to pry it open. The drawers were full and contained several antiques, the bowl, a toilet figurine, books, photos and documents.

Then they found the two black leather doctor bags. Xing opened the first soft bundle. They found what looked like a piece of brown, dry, very old-looking wood, Gomez said. Xing said it appeared to be an embryo. They called 911.

Coroner's investigators unwrapped the second bundle to find the larger skeleton. This one was more childlike, wrapped in an extra blanket, the sheet and newspaper. You could see the child's hair, Gomez said.

Both had been wrapped up like mummies but both were skeletons, she said.

Another paper in the trunk was dated Sept. 17, 1937.

The women found a certificate indicating Barrie belonged to "The Peter Pan Woodlands Club," Gomez said. Oddly, Peter Pan was created by Scottish author James M. Barrie.