A 27-year-old Quebec woman has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder in connection to the deaths of her three newborn babies.
The accused woman, from Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-lac on Montreal’s North Shore, was the mother of all three of the infants from separate pregnancies, Quebec’s provincial police allege.
The investigation began on Oct. 15 when the woman visited a hospital in Saint-Eustache, Que. in distress. Doctors soon realized that she had recently given birth but there was no sign of the infant. When she was asked about the baby, the woman refused to provide any information.
Local police raided the woman’s home on Oct. 16 and discovered the remains of three newborns. The Surete du Quebec was called in and they determined that one of the bodies was only a few days old. The other remains dated as far back as the fall of 2014.
The SQ arrested the woman on Wednesday. A fourth child was living with the woman when she was taken into custody.
The suspect’s spouse has not been charged, police said.
The woman appeared in court in Saint-Jerome on Thursday afternoon where she was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, disposing of human remains in order to conceal their deaths, failing to provide the basic necessities of life and endangering the moral wellbeing of a child.
During the brief court appearance, the woman did not enter a plea. She can’t be named to protect the identity of the fourth child.
The woman is due back in court in December.
None of the allegations have been tested in court.
