Thieves have stolen toys placed on the grave of a murdered baby just weeks before the 20th anniversary of her tragic death.

On Monday, April 3 1995, the body of a newborn baby girl was discovered by two teenagers in Singleton Lake.

The tiny child had been strangled with a pair of tights and tissue paper had been stuffed in her mouth before she was wrapped in plastic and a carrier bag and thrown into the murky water.

Despite an extensive police search neither the parents nor the killers were ever found and the little girl, who was named Baby April, was buried in Bybrook Cemetery.

Last week, a handwritten note was found on Baby April’s grave calling the thieves “sick and cruel” and warning them to stay away from the memorial.

It read: “To the person who stole Baby April’s toys. You are sick and cruel.

“Leave Baby April alone. Do you not realise she is watched over?

“You will be caught soon I hope. Stupid.”

Ashford council’s portfolio holder for the environment, which covers ABC cemeteries, said she was disappointed to hear of the thefts.

Cllr Jessamy Blanford said: “Of course it is extremely disappointing to hear that toys lovingly put on any grave should go missing. We do rely on everyone to respect the cemetery and the flowers, plants and other items that may have been left affectionately by others within it.

“The case remains open and active. Kent Police will never close a murder investigation until it is solved” - Det Supt Rob Vinson, head of major crime

“Should anyone see anything being taken from a graveside we would urge them to contact the police.”

During the original investigation, named Operation Duke, police checked on a total of 3,858 people in an attempt to trace Baby April’s mother.

Hundreds of teenage girls in the Ashford and Tenterden areas who were absent from school around the time of the birth were interviewed, while doctors and midwives helped account for all expectant mothers in the district.

DNA profiles were used to exclude women who came under suspicion.

One of the county’s top police officers said Baby April’s heartbreaking death is still affecting people 20 years on.

Det Supt Rob Vinson, head of major crime, said: “Local people have been touched by April’s story and regularly tend to her grave.

“We were made aware of toys being removed from April’s grave in 2012 but we do not have a record of any thefts since. This was investigated at the time.

“Work has been conducted on the investigation and the case is reviewed regularly. The parents of Baby April did not come forward following the appeal in 2012.

“The case remains open and active. Kent Police will never close a murder investigation until it is solved.”

Det Supt Vinson said police now have a full DNA profile for Baby April so her body will not need to be exhumed again and she can rest in peace.

What is DNA and how can it help solve a crime?

DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a chemical found in almost every cell in the human body.

About 99.9% of human DNA is the same in every person but the remaining 0.1% is unique to each individual and forensic scientists can use it to help identify someone.

DNA samples are often obtained by taking a swab from inside someone’s mouth. Human DNA can be gathered from a crime scene by taking samples of hair, blood or other bodily fluids or tissue.

Police can use DNA to determine whether two people are likely to be related or to link someone to a crime scene, for example if they’ve left blood or hair behind.

The likelihood of two unrelated people having the same DNA is less than one in one billion, according to the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, which provides information on the National DNA Database, a directory of more than 6 million DNA samples taken from criminals, crime scenes and volunteers wishing to eliminate themselves from an investigation.

In 1983 American Dr Kary Mullis made it much easier to carry out DNA testing on samples that have deteriorated over time, such as bodies exhumed after a number of years.

Mullis invented polymerase chain reaction (PCR), a method that allows scientists to make millions of identical copies of a DNA molecule from a tiny sample, making it easier to analyse. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his invention in 1993.

Information from the UK government’s Forensic Science Service (FSS), America’s National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and research by Jennifer M Romeika and Fei Yan, Department of Chemistry, North Carolina Central University.

How a council helps when a person dies with no relatives

If a resident with no relatives and no will dies within the borough, Ashford Borough Council will make funeral arrangements and pay for the service under the Public Health Act 1984.

Unidentified bodies are treated in the same way.

In the last financial year, ABC spent £10,400 on eight public health funerals, in 2012/13 it was £6,500 for five funerals, and the 11 funerals the authority paid for in 2011/12 cost £14,300.

As well as Bybrook Cemetery, ABC owns Willesborough Cemetery in Church Road, Tenterden Cemetery in Cranbrook Road, Tenterden, and Canterbury Road Cemetery in Ashford.

The council will erect a wooden cross and a plaque on every new grave in one of its cemeteries.

An area within the council cemeteries is reserved for the burial of children under five.

A small memorial is allowed on the grave but no glass items can be left there for health and safety reasons.

Under the Local Authorities Cemeteries Order 1977, it is illegal for anyone to remove, alter or disturb a monument, headstone, tombstone, flat stone, gravestone or memorial inscription which has been erected, placed or made in a cemetery without the council’s consent.

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