18 APRIL 26, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cops provide proper burial for baby
found dead in Queens trash can
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@R_KELLEY6
The silence weighed heavy in the
air as nearly 100 police offi cers
and dozens of local residents
stood in front of Most Precious
Blood Church in Astoria on April
21 and watched the rear door of the
hearse open.
Inside, the all-white casket was the
size of a large shoebox — so small that
it had to be placed on a platform to be
carried into the church. The four pall
bearers, each of whom are offi cers
from the 114th Precinct, never met
the child.
In fact, no one attending the funeral
ever did.
The baby boy being laid to rest that
day was found dead in a garbage can
at Dutch Kills Playground on Feb. 17,
and since that time, no family member
came forward to claim the child.
Thanks to the eff orts of the NYPD and
the AMT Children of Hope Foundation
— which covered the cost of the funeral
— the boy gained a spiritual family
during the funeral procession and
hour-long mass that brought people
from the local community and across
the borough together in mourning.
“This is his family, right here in this
church,” said Bishop Raymond Chappetto
during the service. “His family
has surrounded him today with love,
with prayer, and with the promise
that the community will treasure his
memory.”
Now known as Dutch James Hope,
the boy is only believed to have been a
NYPD offi cers carry the casket of baby who was found dead in a garbage can for the funeral service at
Most Precious Blood Church in Astoria on April 21.
few weeks old at the time of his death.
According to Timothy Jaccard, a paramedic
for the Nassau County Police
Department and founder of the AMT
Children of Hope Foundation, the local
community named the baby aft er the
playground where he was found.
“Hope” is the last name given to all
of the babies that Jaccard’s foundation
has laid to rest at Holy Rood Cemetery
in Westbury, New York, and Dutch
James was the 139th, Jaccard said.
In nearly two decades since the
foundation was formed, however, it
has saved the lives of 3,669 babies,
Jaccard said. His passion for this cause
arose during 1998 and 1999, when Jaccard
responded to four calls regarding
babies found not breathing in a matter
of weeks.
He also wrote the Abandoned Infant
Protection Act to save the lives
of unwanted newborns; the act was
ultimately approved by the state legislature
and became law. First enacted
in 2000, the law was amended in 2010
to ensure that parents who abandon
their infant in a safe way as prescribed
by law will not be held criminally
liable.
In 2017, the foundation helped save
the lives of 26 babies, and four have
been saved in 2018 so far.
“With the news coverage when we
have these funerals, we have some
woman call in desperation aft er seeing
it, and that winds up actually rescuing
a baby,” Jaccard said. “All 139 babies
that we have buried have rescued at
least one child.”
During the Mass, parish member
Martha Caraballo helped carry the
Eucharist to the priest, and refl ected
Photo by Ryan Kelley/THE COURIER
afterward on how much different
this felt than any other mass and the
impact it had on the community.
“The circumstances under which it
happened and everything, and in our
neighborhood, it’s a lot more touching,”
Caraballo said. “It just shows a real
good unity within the community that
something like this brings us together.”
Even those who attended from other
parts of the borough felt the same sentiment.
Michael Naumowicz, a member
of the 104th Precinct Civilian Observation
Patrol covering Ridgewood
and surrounding neighborhoods,
remembered shedding a tear when he
fi rst heard the news about the child
back in February.
His reaction to seeing so many
people come to honor Dutch James
Hope showed just how fi tting that last
name is.
“Seeing the community come together
as it did today, it actually gives me a
lot of hope that there is a lot of good in
the world,” Naumowicz said. “It’s just
a great belonging feeling.”
Police continue to search for Dutch
James’ mother; they are off ering up to
a $2,500 reward for any information
that could help the investigation. Call
Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS with
any information; all calls are kept
confi dential.
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