Mom confesses to killing newborns

Berlin - A 28-year-old woman in Germany has admitted killing five of her own newborn infants over several years, police said Thursday, charging her with five counts of manslaughter.

Authorities in the northern city of Flensburg said the woman, who was not named, had confessed to the killing of two babies whose bodies were found in a paper-recycling plant and a car park in March 2006 and March 2007.

During questioning, she then also admitted she had later killed three other newborns, stashing the corpses in her cellar, in previously unknown cases, police and prosecutors said at a joint news conference.

Authorities said autopsies had found no indication of the cause or exact timing of the deaths.

“It is important to stress that no one else was involved in these acts,” police spokesman Dirk Czarnetzki told reporters.

“No one knew about the pregnancies or the birth of these children,” he added.

The woman, who is now in custody, is married with two children aged eight and 10.

Her husband did not wish to expand their family, prosecutor Ulrike Stahlmann-Liebelt said.

“She was worried that he would leave her if he found out about (the other births) because he did not want to have any more children,” Stahlmann-Liebelt said. “She felt she had nowhere else to turn.”

The man, who is receiving counselling, was described as “completely devastated.”

Stahlmann-Liebelt said the investigation was at a preliminary stage and she could not speculate on a possible sentence.

Authorities said they had carried out saliva tests on “hundreds of women in the area” after the two bodies were discovered in 2006 and 2007.

The suspect was asked to offer a saliva test on Tuesday and handed herself in shortly afterwards, Czarnetzki said. - Sapa-AFP