It’s a mystery with all the elements of a riveting TV movie of the week.
The potential kidnapping of a newborn infant from a maternity ward.
A sister’s search for a brother she believes did not die 70 years ago as reported.
A public record that forensic experts say was altered.
But it’s not some work of Hollywood-produced fiction. It’s the real-life story of longtime Lakeville resident Patti Hacht’s quest to find an older brother she never even knew existed until about 14 years ago.
‘It’s been a very interesting journey,? said Hacht, president of the Addison Township Genealogy Society.
An offhand remark made by her late mother, Jean Hacht, around 2000 set the whole thing in motion.
‘She and I were driving down to Somerset Mall (in Troy) and we were going past White Chapel Cemetery,? she said. ‘She very calmly made this little statement ? ‘Oh, that’s where that first baby was buried.??
Hacht had no idea what she was talking about. She knew her mother had suffered multiple miscarriages, but she wasn’t aware of her losing a baby following its birth.
It turns out Hacht’s mother gave birth to a baby boy on July 29, 1944 at Grace Hospital in Detroit.
As if that revelation wasn’t shocking enough, her mother then told her, ‘But we never thought he really died. Your aunt worked at the hospital and she said there wasn’t anything wrong with this baby. They just came in one day and told us that he died. We always expected that someone would come knocking on our door one day.?
That may sound strange by today’s standards, but given the era and knowing her parents as she did, it’s not odd to Hacht.
‘No one ever questioned anything, especially back then,? she said. ‘My parents wouldn’t have questioned it. They would have just accepted it.?
Her mother’s words prompted Hacht to do ‘some digging.?
She went to White Chapel Memorial Cemetery and found there were no babies buried there under the Hacht name. She discovered he had been cremated and her parents had never claimed the ashes.
‘That wasn’t terribly shocking,? Hacht said. ‘My parents weren’t the most touchy, feely people.?
In April 2001, Hacht obtained copies of the baby’s birth and death certificates from the Detroit Department of Health.
‘He never had a name,? she said. ‘He was just Baby Boy Hacht.?
Both documents stated the baby was stillborn, which didn’t make sense to Hacht because her mother told her he died a few days after being born and during that period she recalled feeding him.
‘He couldn’t possibly have been stillborn if my mom had fed him,? Hacht said.
She also noticed it appeared as though the death certificate had been altered with regard to the date and time of death. The certificate indicated the baby died on July 29, 1944 at 9:57 a.m., the same time and date as when it was supposedly stillborn.
Hacht enlisted the help of her older brother, Jim, who’s now deceased, and the two went to court to obtain permission to have a forensic examination conducted on the original document.
The East Lansing-based Speckin Forensic Laboratories conducted the examination in April 2006 and it revealed that underneath the handwritten death date was another date ? July 31, 1944.
According to the lab report, prepared by Forensic Document Analyst Robert D. Kullman, it was determined the 31 in the date was ‘chemically removed and overwritten as 29.?
‘Therefore, the date was changed from 7-31-44 to 7-29-44,? the report stated.
It was also determined that the time of death, which was handwritten as well, had been changed. ‘The 10 (a.m.) was chemically removed and overwritten as 9:57 (a.m.),? the report stated. ‘Therefore, the time was changed from 10 AM to 9:57 AM.?
Kullman noted in his report that ‘it is my opinion the overwriting was done with a different pen than the original ink writing.?
The birth certificate wasn’t examined by Speckin because it contained ‘no alterations,? according to Hacht.
Although the death certificate was definitely altered, that fact doesn’t shed any light on what happened to Baby Boy Hacht.
Did he die as reported or did he, in fact, live? Was he taken and raised by some other family? Is he alive today?
Hacht doesn’t have any hard evidence to answer any of those questions.
All she has is speculation ? and a gut feeling.
‘I’m sure I have a brother out there,? she said. ‘I know he wasn’t stillborn, so the whole thing is suspect to me.?
Hacht believes it’s possible her brother was taken and used as a substitute for another baby that died at the hospital during that same time frame.
‘Was it somebody wealthy whose baby died? Was it somebody in the Mob? We have no idea what the reason was,? Hacht said.
Or, she said it doesn’t necessarily have to be something ‘nefarious.? A retired police officer expressed to her the idea that perhaps the baby was given to the widow of a serviceman who perished in World War II because her newborn baby died and someone at the hospital didn’t believe she should have to suffer two big losses.
Again, it’s all speculation.
If it’s true that Hacht’s brother was kidnapped 70 years ago and is still alive today, she said she has only one real hope of finding him ? he learns the parents who raised him aren’t his blood and he goes looking for his real family.
Hacht is hoping modern technology will unite them. To that end, she has her genetic information on file with four databases and three companies that specialize in genetic genealogy, which utilizes various types of DNA testing to determine the level and type of genetic relationship between people.
Some of these genetic genealogy services offer to put people in contact with their closest genetic matches.
‘I think I started that nine years ago,? she said. ‘I check them periodically for a sibling match. My brother will have the same mitochondrial DNA that I have. We have a couple of rare mutations.?
Mitochondrial DNA (or mtDNA) is the genetic material that’s passed down from females to both their sons and daughters. While daughters pass on their mother’s mtDNA to their children, sons do not.
But in order for Hacht to find her brother this way, he must have his DNA tested and use one of the same databases or testing companies that she did. In the end, if Hacht’s brother is out there, it appears it’s all up to him to discover his true roots and find the curious sister who would like to see this mystery end with a family reunion.