Former nurse concealed births of stillborn children found in attic

A FORMER nurse who admitted concealing the births of three of her children after their stillborn bodies were discovered in the attics of two former homes was yesterday sentenced to a 12-month community rehabilitation order.

Ann Mahoney, 63, was charged in May this year after a baby’s body was found in a suitcase in the attic of a former home in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, in March.

The grandmother was charged with two more counts of concealing a birth when the bodies of two more babies were found in the attic of her latest address in Forsythia Close on Merthyr Tydfil’s Gurnos estate. The mother-of-two, a well-known community volunteer, said after her arrest that all three children were stillborn and she used her own nursing skills to carry out deliveries.

In August, Mahoney admitted three charges of endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child.

The court heard that it was impossible to state whether any of the babies was a live birth and the Crown accepted what Mahoney said in police interview.

Mahoney has been on conditional bail awaiting the completion of reports pending yesterday’s hearing.

She has been living in a bail hostel in England since her arrest and has been banned from entering Wales unless to attend court. The court heard yesterday that Mahoney wishes to resume her life in Merthyr Tydfil.

Prosecutor Ieuan Morris said: “Because of the substantial length of time between their disposal and the recovery of the bodies, it has not been possible to determine the precise cause of death or when they were concealed.’

He added the babies were born since the birth of her youngest daughter Nicola in 1970. The prosecutor said: “The defendant claimed she delivered them herself in her own bedroom, unassisted having relied upon her experience as a nurse working in a local maternity ward.”

Mr Morris said the prosecution initially looked upon this version with scepticism but have now accepted the basis of plea. The court heard that on March 20 of this year, Daniel Sullivan, the occupants of Mahoney’s former home on Penyfan View, made a gruesome discovery while searching his attic. Mr Sullivan found a baby in a suitcase which caused him “considerable distress”.