According to the Los Angeles Times today, a human tragedy that quietly played out perhaps more than 70 years ago, is being investigated:
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck promised a vigorous investigation after the remains of two babies believed to have died seven decades ago were found in the basement of an apartment building near MacArthur Park.
The remains were found in a steamer truck wrapped in Los Angeles Times newspapers from the 1930s. A ticket to the 1932 Olympics and other items were found nearby.
“We’ll put detectives on this case for the long term,” Beck told The Times. “We’ll try to reconstruct the circumstances based on what the coroner tells us, based on the history of the residence and based on science.
What’s a “steamer truck,” and what was a truck doing in a basement? It appears to be a typo in the Los Angeles Times story. Here’s what a steamer trunk looks like. Steamer trunks were common in the late 19th and early 20th century. People would take them on sea voyages. They are flat on top and so are readily stackable or sat upon:
Image source: Wikipedia.
