French Woman kills 8 new born babies

Frenchwoman 'admits smothering eight newborn babies'

Undated picture of Dominique Cottrez Dominique Cottrez is being detained while the investigation continues

A woman in northern France has admitted killing her eight newborn babies but said her husband knew nothing about it, the prosecutor in the case has said.

Dominique Cottrez has been placed under investigation over the deaths, which happened between 1989 and 2006. Her husband has been freed without charge.

Mr Cottrez had initially faced investigation for allegedly concealing the bodies and not reporting crimes.

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* What is known about the case

Mrs Cottrez, 47, faces charges of the voluntary homicide of the babies.

Being placed under investigation is the first stage of criminal proceedings that can lead to charges.

The prosecutor had requested the charges of failing to report the killings and hiding the bodies against Mr Cottrez, but the prosecutor said the investigating magistrate in the case had ruled against this.

Wrapped in plastic

The remains were found in the village of Villers-au-Tertre, near the northern city of Lille, on Wednesday.

At the scene

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Christian Fraser

Christian Fraser BBC News, Villers-au-Tertre

Dominique Cottrez was house proud. Her garden is a picture: there are no clues here - save for the police tape on the windows - to the macabre secret she was hiding in the garage of her tiny cottage.

The prosecutor says she is now facing eight counts of murder and a possible life sentence.

Mrs Cottrez was an active member of the community, a familiar figure known to all as the doting grandmother.

But she had smothered the first of these eight children in 1989, the last in 2006.

She never wanted any more children, she told police and, even though she is a care assistant, she claims she was too fearful of doctors to ever request contraception.

Police with sniffer dogs searched two houses in the quiet commuter village after the new owners of a house called them following the discovery of remains in the garden.

The house belonged to the parents of the arrested woman.

Police then conducted searches in another house in the village - that of the arrested couple - where the bodies of more babies were found.

Mrs Cottrez said she was fully aware of her pregnancies, but that she did not want any more children and did not want to see a doctor for contraception, the prosecutor in the case said at a news conference.

"This is a case outside of the norms given the number of newborns," he added.

Mrs Cottrez said that after a first difficult birth because of her heavy weight, she did not want to see any more doctors. She was alone in her pregnancies and while giving birth, the prosecutor said.

The remains found in the first house were wrapped in plastic bags, while the other six bodies were found in the garage of the second house wrapped in hermetically sealed plastic bags, hidden under a variety of objects.

The births of the eight babies were said to have taken place between 1989 and 2006-07, the prosecutor said, although further tests will be able to determine the exact dates.

Mr Cottrez said he had never noticed his wife's pregnancies because of her heavy weight, and had no idea she had been getting rid of the babies at birth, the prosecutor said.