A 32-year-old woman was arrested in the French city of Orange on suspicion of killing five newborn children. The remains of the infants were found in the apartment where she lived with her partner and two older children. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Euronews.
The woman was taken into custody on July 29. The Avignon prosecutor's office opened an investigation under the article on the murder of minors under 15 years of age.
The remains of the children were discovered by the suspect's 32-year-old partner. According to the investigation, the man learned late about the woman's latest pregnancy. On Sunday, she gave birth to a healthy boy at home, after which she was taken to the hospital.
Returning to the apartment, the man decided to find out what had happened earlier. During the search, he found several boxes containing the bones of four infants and the body of another newborn.
After that, the man contacted the Orange hospital. The medical facility relayed the information to the prosecutor's office.
On the evening of July 27, police officers searched the couple's apartment and seized the boxes with the remains. The investigation was assigned to the national police unit for combating organized and specialized crime.
A forensic examination preliminarily established that the found bones and decomposed body belong to five infants. The remains were sent for laboratory tests, and an autopsy was also ordered.
The suspect remains in the hospital after giving birth. At the time of publication, investigators had not yet interrogated her.
The woman's partner claims he knew nothing about her possible previous pregnancies. The man was not detained.
The couple lived in an old house in the center of Orange, near the ancient theater, and raised two children aged eight and nine. Child welfare authorities are assessing the situation of the older children.
The newborn boy, whom the woman gave birth to on Sunday, has been temporarily placed under guardianship. A decision on his future fate must be made by a juvenile judge.