Babies found in freezer

IN THE latest case to shock Germany, authorities said yesterday they discovered three dead babies in a freezer and arrested the woman believed to be the mother.

The discovery of the babies, who appear to have been newborns when they died, came late on Sunday after members of the woman’s family alerted police.

The 44-year-old woman already has children aged 18-24.

The woman is under medical supervision because of her mental state and is awaiting questioning.

The freezer containing the bodies was in the cellar of a detached house in Wenden, about 100km east of Bonn.

The corpses, which according to local TV were wrapped in bags, were to undergo post-mortem examinations once thawed.

One TV channel speculated that the mother was able to conceal her pregnancies because she was overweight.

Germany has witnessed numerous similar cases in recent years. Most notable was Sabine Hilschenz, in eastern Germany, who killed nine of her newborn babies and hid the remains in buckets, flower pots and an old fish tank at her parents’ home.

She was found guilty of eight counts of manslaughter in 2006 and is serving a 15-year prison sentence.

In December 2007 a 31-year-old woman was arrested after the bodies of five children between three and nine years old were found in a house in Darry, near the northern city of Kiel. The same week a woman was arrested in Plauen in eastern Germany on suspicion of killing three newborns.

Last November, a 35-year-old woman from Erfurt was sentenced to 12 years in jail for killing two of her babies and hiding their bodies in a freezer.