The Baby in the Suitcase
In 1950s America, unwed pregnancy was a sociological crime
The terror had to have been overwhelming.
The June 12, 1954, Waynesboro News-Virginian newspaper reported that on the previous day, an 18-year-old named Jane* came home from running errands and heard what she thought was a cat meowing somewhere inside the apartment she shared on Seventh Street in East Waynesboro with her divorced mother, Martha* and her younger brother, Donald.* She called Donald in from outside and together they searched the apartment trying to find the cat.
Tracing the soft noises to a bedroom closet, they removed a basket of clothes to reveal a suitcase hidden underneath. Opening the suitcase, they were stunned to find a tiny, emaciated baby boy, appearing only several days old, wrapped in a sheet.
The story went on to relate that Jane immediately called her mother about the discovery, who in turn called the police before rushing home. Officers R. L. Stover and P. C. Bragg arrived, then took the four-pound, 10-ounce baby — which they categorized as “abandoned” — to Waynesboro Community Hospital while Chief of Police W. C. Drumheller and Lt. Benson under Commonwealth’s Attorney W. Moore opened an investigation on how the infant got there.
