Will County Parents Nicole Pokrzywa and William Cosmen Charged After Infant Found Buried in Beer Box

WILL COUNTY, Ill. – Authorities in Will County, Illinois, have arrested a couple after the decomposed remains of a newborn were discovered buried on a Wilmington-area property, according to officials.

Editor’s Note: Some details in this story may be disturbing. Reader discretion is advised. 

Police said detectives were alerted Thursday that an infant may have been buried on a property in the 1900 block of Roberts Road near Wilmington. A search warrant was obtained, and investigators located the baby’s remains Friday morning, buried approximately three feet underground in what appeared to be an Old Style beer box, wrapped in a plastic bag and cloth. The burial site had been marked with a makeshift headstone.

The Will County Coroner’s Office took possession of the remains, and an autopsy conducted Saturday determined the infant was a female between 22 and 27 weeks gestational age. Additional testing is expected due to the advanced state of decomposition.

The suspects, identified as 36-year-old Nicole Pokrzywa of Wilmington and 38-year-old William Cosmen of Manhattan, Illinois, were interviewed by detectives and allegedly admitted to attempting to conceal the infant’s death. According to police, the baby was reportedly born in a toilet at a Manhattan residence. Cosmen allegedly tried to dispose of the body down the toilet drain with a plunger, but when that failed, the remains were left in the toilet overnight before being wrapped and transported to the Roberts Road property for burial.

Authorities said the pair dug a hole roughly three feet wide and four feet deep for the burial. Both Pokrzywa and Cosmen have been charged with desecration of a corpse, and additional charges may be filed once further testing is complete. They were taken into custody at the Will County Jail and are expected to receive notice to appear in court