Authorities have charged a man and a woman after discovering an infant wrapped in plastic and buried in a beer box on a property in northeastern Illinois.
Nicole Pokrzywa, 36, and William Cosmen, 38, were taken into custody at the Will County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday afternoon, facing charges related to the abuse of a corpse, according to jail records. Police have identified Pokrzywa as the mother of the deceased baby girl, though details regarding Cosmen’s connection to the infant have not been disclosed.
The investigation was prompted on Thursday when deputies received a tip about a potential burial site of an infant on Roberts Road in Wilmington, approximately 60 miles southwest of Chicago.
During their inquiry, investigators discovered that Pokrzywa had given birth prematurely and that the infant’s body had been buried, marked with a makeshift headstone, according to a statement from the Will County Sheriff’s Office.
With the area secured, police and Crime Scene Investigators conducted a search on Friday. Upon digging about three feet below the surface, they uncovered what appeared to be an Old Style beer box containing the remains of the infant, wrapped in a plastic bag and cloth.
The infant is believed to have been born in October 2024 when Pokrzywa was between six to eight months pregnant.
Pokrzywa and Cosmen were detained and questioned by authorities on Friday, during which time they “both made incriminating statements pertaining to the concealment of the death of the infant,” police said.
Both suspects allegedly told detectives that Pokrzywa has given birth at a separate residence in Manhattan, Ill., and indicated “the infant was born in a toilet,” cops said Saturday. Cosmen then attempted to dispose of the girl’s body “down the toilet drain with a plunger.”
When they realized the remains would not fit down the drain, the duo “left the deceased infant inside of the toilet overnight,” then later wrapped her in a plastic bag and transported her to the property in Wilmington where she was buried, according to police.
Pokrzywa and Cosmen were charged on Saturday with one count each of desecration of a corpse, though authorities said additional charges could be forthcoming pending the completion of autopsy and toxicology reports.
They were in custody at the Will County Adult Detention Facility but released later in the day on a notice to appear in court.
