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German mother jailed for killing her babies

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-03-04 21:18

BERLIN -- A 29-year-old woman who killed her two baby girls and hid their remains in her flat was jailed on Wednesday for eight years by a German court.

The mother, an unemployed secretary, was detained just over one year ago after she failed to take one of her children in for a routine pre-school examination, prompting a visit from local authorities, who found the remains of the babies in her flat.

The court did not find the mother, identified as Susann F., guilty of killing a third daughter whose remains were also found, because it was not clear she had caused that baby's death. The three deaths took place between 2002 and 2005.

"The police did a house search and found the remains of the babies in the freezer, another one in a suitcase in the attic and a third one in a flower pot", said Altfrid Luthe, a spokesman for the court in the eastern city of Zwickau.

The woman has two surviving children, both boys, who have lived in an orphanage since she was taken into custody. The father of the children was not accused of any crime because, prosecutors say, he did not live with the mother and may not have been aware of the pregnancies.

The case is eerily similar to that of Sabine Hilschinz, who in 2006 received a 15-year prison sentence for killing eight of her babies between 1992 and 1998 and burying them in flower pots, buckets and a fish tank on her property.

Germany has been hit by a series of infanticide cases in recent years. Some clinics have installed "hatches" for desperate mothers to put unwanted babies in an attempt to save lives. The hatches are heated boxes which set off an alarm when a baby is deposited.