Inquest due to open into death of baby in Derbyshire town

An inquest is due to open next week into the death of a baby in a Derbyshire town.
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Police were called to an address in Acorn Drive, Belper, just before 10.50pm on January 2 following a report that a baby was in cardiac arrest.

The baby, four-month-old Elijah Shemwell, was taken to hospital by ambulance but sadly died on January 5.

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His inquest is scheduled to open at Chesterfield Coroner’s Court on Monday afternoon.

Derbyshire police on Acorn Drive, Belper, following the tragedy.Derbyshire police on Acorn Drive, Belper, following the tragedy.
Derbyshire police on Acorn Drive, Belper, following the tragedy.

A 21-year-old woman and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of assault in connection with the incident and later released on police bail, pending further investigations.

Detectives have now issued an appeal for dashcam and CCTV footage.

Detective Inspector Mark Shaw, who is leading the investigation, said: “We have a team of dedicated detectives working around-the-clock to establish the circumstances of what led to the baby’s death.

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“An ongoing line of enquiry is reviewing CCTV footage from Acorn Drive and nearby areas.

“Detectives are actively working through and recovering footage and I would like to appeal to those in the local community to get in touch if they have any private CCTV installed which may have captured footage on January 2.

“I would also be very keen to hear from anyone who was driving in the area, or close by, that day who has dashcam installed which may have captured footage that would be useful to us.

“If you believe you can help, please contact us as soon as possible, quoting reference number 220*3753.”

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Facebook – send a private message to /DerbyshireConstabulary

Twitter – direct message the force’s contact centre on @DerPolContact

Website – complete the contact form at www.derbyshire.police.uk/ContactUs

Phone – call 101

You can also anonymously contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

If you have footage which may be useful for officers, ensure it is securely downloaded to another device and kept safely for them to view.