Woman held after police find 5 dead babies

Finnish police say they have arrested a 35-year-old woman on suspicion of manslaughter after finding five dead babies in an apartment building.

Police in the western city of Oulu said in a statement they found the bodies, which appeared to be “almost fully grown foetuses... in powerfully smelling packages”, in a basement cupboard in the building after being alerted to the scene by house managers.

The statement said that during the investigation, a woman came forward saying she gave birth to the stillborn babies at home between five and 10 years earlier.

Police did not identify the woman, but said she has no criminal record and could not give a clear explanation for her actions.

Investigators made the grim discovery after being called out to investigate a “strong smell” emanating from the bowels of the building.

Police said the precise age of the infants could not be established, but they appeared to be “foetuses nearing maturity whose death dates back several years”.

“A woman arrived there as officers had begun their investigation, saying she had put the packages into the cupboard,” Det Supt Seppo Leinonen. “She said she’d given birth to the stillborn babies between five and 10 years ago at home.”

He declined to identify her except to say that she was a local Finnish woman, married with children, who had moved into an apartment in the building in Oulu, about 800km north of Helsinki, a few months earlier. He said no other family members were suspected of being involved.

Leinonen said police are treating the case as suspected manslaughter. He declined to give more details, saying the forensic examination is expected to take months.