The autopsy revealed that baby died from a skull fracture, but the investigation did not yield any leads as to who the victim or the killer was, leaving the crime unsolved.

Thoroughly reviewing the collected items, detectives noticed that the bag had numerous patches, had a remarkable wear on the trellises, as if it had been used by a peddler carrying baskets with straps and that in his pockets were remains of cigarettes and anise grains, which made the authorities consider that the perpetrator was either Spanish or Calabrian, since they had a habit of carrying anise seeds.

Thus, the police started staking out the garbage cart and directing the search towards people with scarce resources; they were able to locate and take cognizance on May 9, 1898, that on Artes Street 1438 (now Carlos Pellegrini) in the Retiro neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, there was a family that always dressed in the morning.

[clarification needed] The aforementioned family consisted of a woman named Rose Ponce de Nicola, her spouse, Cayetano Domingo Grossi (a carter by profession); Rosa's two older daughters Clara and Catalina, and three younger children.

A day later, on May 10, a police commission ordered an inspection of a room occupied by the family, which revealed a tin containing the body of an infant wrapped in rags, thus confirming their suspicions.

Grossi explained that the sack was found in a garbage bin belonging to his son Carlos, and that he had killed the baby at Clara's request.

[5] Grossi's wife Rosa and her daughters, Clara and Catalina,[6] were considered "concealers" of the homicides and were sentenced to three years of effective prison each and to pay court costs.

Having established the responsibilities of the accused, Cayetano Domingo Grossi was found guilty as the perpetrator of the murders and was sentenced to death by Judge Ernesto Madero.