Police on Monday arrested two 17-year-old girls on suspicion of dumping the body of a newborn baby boy near the bank of the Arakawa River in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward in June. The naked infant, with his umbilical cord still attached, was found on June 27 by a worker who was cutting high grass.

Police said the two girls arrested were the infant’s mother and her friend, adding they have admitted to the charge.

The mother said she gave birth to her son on the night of June 23. She was quoted by police as saying she didn’t know what to do and called her friend. She and her friend put the body in a bag and took a train to the spot where they left the body on June 24. The site is about 100 meters from Horikiri Station on the Tobu Skytree Line.

Police said they identified the two girls through nearby street surveillance camera footage.

The mother said the father was a man she had met on a paid date and that she had not seen him since.

© Japan Today