Woman admits killing eight babies

A French nurse has admitted suffocating eight of her newborn babies and hiding their bodies.

Dominique Cottrez delivered the infants herself, killed them and put them in plastic bags.

The 46-year-old, who is married with two adult daughters, told police that after a traumatic experience with her first pregnancy she never again wanted to see a doctor.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Two of the babies were found buried in the garden of her former home in village of Villers-au-Tertre, near Lille, a quiet village some 200 kilometres (125 miles) north of Paris. She hid the rest in the garage, prosecutor Eric Vaillant said.

"She explained that she didn't want any more children and that she didn't want to see a doctor to take contraceptives," Mr Vaillant said. "She was perfectly conscious of the fact that she was pregnant each time."

Cottrez has been charged with the killings but her husband, Pierre-Marie Cottrez, who was arrested with her, was freed. The pair appeared in court yesterday where bail was refused for Cottrez who is expected to be kept in custody until a trial next year.

The babies' deaths were uncovered by the house's new owners in plastic bags in the garden. Cottrez has admitted to killing them at birth about 10 years ago

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Under questioning she admitted there were six other corpses and said that they were in plastic bags in the garage.

She will undergo further psychiatric testing, Mr Vaillant said.

Her husband claimed he knew nothing about the pregnancies. His wife is a large and easily concealed her condition and has testified that she did not tell him about the pregnancies nor her decision to kill the babies.

The couple's two daughters, who are in their 20s, have also been questioned. Mr Vaillant refused to provide any further details about them.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Police sealed the doors, gate and windows of the house where the remains of some of the babies were discovered. DNA tests were being held to establish if the couple are the parents, and post mortem examinations are being conducted to try to determine the cause of death.

Officers are also searching for more bodies but Cottrez claims there are no more.

Shocked neighbours said there was nothing about her to suggest there was something amiss.

"They were always smiling and warm-hearted," said Madame Candelier, the current owner of their former house where some of the corpses were discovered.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

France has seen a string of cases in recent years of mothers killing their babies and saving and hiding the corpses.

In one case, Celine Lesage was sentenced in March to 15 years in prison after admitting killing six of her babies, whose corpses were found in plastic bags in her basement.

Veronique Courjault was convicted last year of murdering three of her new-born children. Her husband discovered two of the corpses in a freezer while they two were living in South Korea. During the trial psychiatrists testified that she suffered from a psychological condition known as "pregnancy denial."

Germany also has seen similar cases. In one, a woman was convicted of manslaughter in 2006 and sentenced to the maximum 15 years in prison for killing eight of her newborn babies and burying them in flower pots and a fish tank in the garden of her parents' home.

Related topics: