Tests prove murdered Austrian babies parentage

DNA tests released today showed a couple detained on suspicion of murder were most likely the parents of at least three of four murdered children found at an apartment complex in southern Austria.

The latest test determined with near certainty that the long-time partner of a mother suspected in the murder of her four children fathered a child found in a bucket encased in concrete, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office said.

DNA tests earlier this month showed the 38-year-old carpenter was also the father of two infants found stuffed into an apartment complex freezer. Further tests are being conducted to see if he fathered the fourth child, which was also encased in concrete.

Autopsies performed on the infants found in the freezer determined the babies were alive at birth.

Police have said the other two corpses had deteriorated significantly after being placed in the concrete.

Investigators have sought to determine what led to the killings in Graz, 120 miles south of Vienna.

The woman, a bookkeeper, has acknowledged she gave birth to the children, but denies killing them. The carpenter has insisted he knew nothing about the pregnancies and played no part in the deaths.

Authorities have questioned the explanation, however, because of the number of births. The couple have lived together for eight years.