Mother of 4 newborns found in freezer will not be charged

BOSTON (TMX) - No charges will be filed in connection with four babies found in a freezer in Boston in 2022, following a lengthy investigation and the identification of the newborns’ parents, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office announced.

“This investigation, which is one of the most complex, unusual and perplexing that this office has ever encountered, is now complete. While we have some answers, there are many elements of this case that will likely never be answered,” Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement Tuesday.

According to the investigative report released by Hayden’s office, the case began on Nov. 17, 2022, when a man reported finding the dead babies while he and his wife cleaned out his sister’s apartment in South Boston.

Two male and two female newborns were found “frozen solid” inside shoeboxes wrapped in tin foil. The babies were between 37 and 40 weeks of gestational age, all four had their umbilical cords still attached, and the female babies had their placentas attached. DNA tests revealed the babies were all full siblings.

Autopsies revealed no signs of trauma or injuries, and there were no signs of milk or formula in the babies’ stomachs. The medical examiner reported there was no way to determine precisely how long the babies had been frozen, and there was no way to determine whether they had been born alive. Their cause of death was listed as undetermined.

DNA testing confirmed the mother of the babies to be Alexis Aldamir, 69, who now resides in a residential healthcare facility. Investigators determined the father of all four babies had died in 2011. A fifth baby born to Aldamir and the same unnamed father was born in 1982 and put up for adoption.

When investigators questioned Aldamir’s former coworkers at the accounting firm where she worked for more than four decades, none had been aware of any pregnancies during that time. They described Aldamir as a heavy-set woman who wore loose-fitting clothing, and said she rarely took vacations.

When investigators visited Aldamir to question her about the babies, she “appeared confused and demonstrated a lack of understanding about where she was and who she was speaking to.” Further assessments of Aldamir’s cognitive ability revealed she would not be competent to stand trial if charged.

“We will never know exactly where or when the four babies found in Alexis Aldamir’s apartment were born. We will never know if the four babies were born alive, and we will never know exactly what happened to them. We will never know how Alexis Aldamir concealed her pregnancies, or why she chose to do so,” Hayden said.

“All involved in this case did extraordinary work in the face of extraordinary challenges. Nearly every investigative avenue led to difficulties resulting from elapsed time, the passing of individuals with potentially relevant information, and other logistical factors. But all avenues were strenuously pursued and as a result we gathered all the facts we could,” Hayden said.