An Italian priest is being investigated for manslaughter over the death of a newborn baby left outside the doors of his church.

Father Antonio Ruccia, a parish priest at the San Giovanni Battista Church in the southern Italian city of Bari, has been named as a suspect despite being absent from the church at the time.

The newborn, believed to be a month old, was found dead on Jan 2 inside the church’s “thermal cradle”, a device set up for unwanted babies to be left anonymously.

It is not yet clear whether the baby died before it arrived at the church, whether the cradle’s alarm system malfunctioned or if the technology had not been repaired after a recent electrical blackout.

The cradle’s alarm and heating system is normally activated as soon as the baby is left there and a notification is supposed to be sent to the priest’s phone.