FIVE DEAD BABIES FOUND IN CARDBOARD BOXES AT FRENCH HOME

The remains of five babies were discovered in cardboard boxes at a house in France's Provence region on Monday, 29 July. A man found the remains after an argument with his wife over the contents of the boxes, which occurred one day after she gave birth. The woman had denied being pregnant, and this was reported as the third time she had concealed a pregnancy. The couple have three living children, aged eight, twelve, and a newborn. Police were notified and began investigating the discovery. No arrests have been made at the time of reporting.

The woman experienced abdominal pains and attended hospital whilst her husband remained at the house. According to reports, the remains were decomposing and had been present for a considerable period. Medical examinations, including autopsies, were conducted to determine the exact nature of the remains and establish the circumstances and dates of death. The couple cannot be named for legal reasons under French law.

The case has drawn comparisons to previous incidents in France involving newborn deaths. In March this year, a French court sentenced a 44-year-old woman to 25 years imprisonment for the deaths of two newborn babies found in the family freezer. In 2018, a court sentenced a woman to eight years for drowning five newborn babies and freezing their bodies. In 2015, a 45-year-old nursing assistant from northern France received a sentence for killing eight newborns between 1989 and 2006 by suffocation shortly after birth.