The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

March 8, 1996
Section: LOCAL NEWS
Edition: The Atlanta Constitution

The Atlanta Journal
Page: B2

Foundling spared a pauper's grave
`Little spark of hope' comes in form of donated burial
 Christina Cheakalos STAFF WRITER  

Twenty-three women are donating $23 each so a baby girl found dead in a trash bag in an Atlanta field last month will be saved from a pauper's burial.

"It gives you that little spark of hope for society, that the evil of some people goes in and that good comes out in others," said Jim Mabe, senior forensic investigator for DeKalb County.

Mabe got a call a couple of weeks ago from Camille Peay, a former Peace Corps volunteer and Stone Mountain mother of three. She asked what would happen to the infant who was found by two children on Feb. 19 when they went to fetch a ball in a field near Moreland Avenue and Memorial Drive. The children found a black plastic trash bag. Inside was a naked infant, umbilical cord still attached. The baby girl was about 24 hours old, weighed five pounds and was healthy and alive when dumped in the field, Mabe said.

"I told Camille that the baby would receive a pauper's burial. And when I described what that was, she asked if we would release the baby to her," Mabe said.

Peay thought the newborn deserved the dignity in death that she didn't get in life. She called a friend who owns Levett & Sons Funeral Home, which picked up the body Thursday and will donate its services, including the coffin. She then called her place of worship, New Birth Missionary Baptist Church on Snapfinger Road in south DeKalb, and the pastor agreed to hold services for the baby.

Relatives and professional and church friends of Peay answered her call, and by Thursday she and 22 others had collected enough money to bury the baby, who they've named, Christina, "for the Christ in her." The service will be at noon Tuesday, with burial at Kennedy Memorial Garden, 2500 River Road in Ellenwood.

"We felt so bad about the baby, and we wanted her to have a Christian burial, but most of all we wanted her to have dignity and love," said Gladys Warner, one of the contributors.

The last preparatory step will be a shopping trip to buy the baby's burial dress, booties, bonnet and stuffed toys to put in her casket.

"She didn't have a mama who loved her in life," Peay said. "This way she'll have 23 mamas."
Photo: Among the baby's "23 mamas" are (from left) Margaret Freeman, Elizabeth Rivers, Gladys Warner, Camille Peay and Cora Goodman (sitting). / Frank Niemeir / Staff

Copyright 1996 The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution

 

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