A baby found stuffed inside a shoe box outside a Sydney apartment block was a newborn girl with the umbilical cord still attached.
Detective Inspector Hans Rupp said the box was found at 8am (AEST) on Thursday by a gardener at the Strathbelle apartment building in Strathfield, west of the city.
It was partly buried under some mulch.
"He had a look inside that box and there was a baby child, a baby girl," the detective told reporters outside the unit block.
"That baby girl was secreted in the box, partly covered.
"We know it was there probably less than 24 hours.
"The gardener goes through the premises every day.
"We suspect that child was placed there in the hours of darkness last night."
Det Insp Rupp appealed for the mother to come forward.
"It's a newborn child. The umbilical cord is still attached and ... she may need some medical treatment," he said.
He also appealed for witnesses who may have seen the box being discarded to come forward.
Det Insp Rupp admitted the pathway where the box was left was not well lit, echoing concerns made earlier by residents of the building.
He also said it was difficult to say if there were any injuries on the baby.
"It's not necessarily a murder investigation, we're looking at suspicious (death) simply because of the way the baby was discarded," he added.
"There's nothing to suggest there's any foul play here.
"It may well have been the mother discarding the baby for whatever reason, we just don't know."
Det Insp Rupp declined to say if the baby, which he described as "full term", was wrapped in anything.
The body has been taken to a morgue.
A post-mortem examination will be conducted on Friday morning.
Further canvassing of residents will take place on Thursday along with further searches of bins in the area.
The box measured about 40cm by 40cm, Det Insp Rupp added.
Subject: Box containing 'dead baby' found 
