Burned fetus discovered in Phoenix's largest homeless camp

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A dead and burned fetus was found in Phoenix’s largest homeless encampment over the weekend, police said.   

Police made the shocking discovery when they responded to a call involving a possibly injured child around 1 a.m. Saturday, police said.

The fetus was found just west of the Arizona city’s downtown, in the area where the encampment is located, police said.

The fetus was an estimated gestational age of 20 to 24 weeks, according to authorities.

One resident who lived near the disturbing scene called the discovery “utterly horrific.

“They thought it was a doll at first, but it wasn’t,” Joel Coplin told KPNX-TV.

He said his neighbor told him that he and his fiancée tried to put out a fire in the street after he witnessed someone lighting something ablaze.

“[He told me] his fiancée came and was trying to put the fire out, and then he went to stomp on it to put it out and realized it was a baby in there,” Coplin said.

“He saw the head, a perfectly shaped head, and little arms, hands, legs, chest.

“He grabbed his fiancé and turned away so she wouldn’t see it, and he was freaked out. He called 911.”

The Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the cause of death.

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