‘Baby in the post’: Detective’s hunch proved wrong after DNA fails to match ‘J Anderson’

Hopes one of the country’s grisliest cold cases could finally be solved have been set back after fresh evidence failed to match detective’s best lead.

A family’s hope that fresh evidence could finally solve one of Australia’s most gruesome cold cases has been crushed, after recovered DNA failed to match detectives’ best lead.

The case of the dead baby sent in the post is one that has baffled investigators since the grisly package was discovered at a Darwin post office in 1965.

The baby’s remains were sent to Darwin from Melbourne in 1965, sitting at the post office for eight days until staff noticed a putrid smell.

Sent to “J Anderson” with a fake return address, the newborn was posted from Melbourne wrapped in newspaper, umbilical cord still attached and a stocking wrapped tightly around his neck.

Police were unable to identify who sent the package nor who it was meant for, but decades later one of the original rookie cops working on the case, Denver Marchant, revealed he suspected J Anderson might be a renowned Northern Territory sportsman.

Former detective Denver Marchant, one of the original investigators on the case, suspected ‘J Anderson’ was a renowned Territory sportsman. Picture: Tony Gough

After The Missing Australia podcast broke the story, the daughter of the sportsman – who asked not to be named – came forward to say she believed the baby could be her brother.

“The name got my attention, but as the story went further, it was like, I had goosebumps, you know, my heart,” she told the podcast last year.

“You get that feeling in your belly. I just knew. I just know. I’ve got a feeling that it’s my big brother.

“I’m hoping, even though it’s a sad, sad situation, I’m hoping that he is our blood so we can lay him to rest. And name him.”

The body of the baby sent in the mail was exhumed from Darwin General Cemetery in November, with hopes a DNA match could finally uncover his identity. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

NT Police contacted the woman and collected a DNA sample to compare with the unidentified baby.

Thanks to the potential family link, the NT Coroner granted permission for the body to be exhumed and the unmarked grave was dug up from Darwin General Cemetery in November.

A DNA profile was successfully taken from the remains, however last week police confirmed it was not a match with the Territory sportsman Mr Marchant suspected of being the baby’s father.

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Police had made an unsuccessful bid to exhume the baby’s body two years earlier, NT deputy coroner Kelvin Currie rejecting the request on the grounds it was not necessary for an investigation.

Now that the baby’s DNA profile has been collected it could be compared with records across Australia, meaning a future match could be made.