France Rocked by Shocking Case of Mother Who Killed Eight Newborn Infants

International   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Jul 29, 2010   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

France Rocked by Shocking Case of Mother Who Killed Eight Newborn Infants

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 29
, 2010

Paris, France (LifeNews.com) — France is making international headlines today with a shocking case of infanticide that has 47-year-old French woman Dominique Cottrez charged with killing eight of her own children over the course of the last 20 years. The news came to light after officials discovered the remains of two children.

The bodies of the two infants were found wrapped in plastic bags by the new owners of a house in the village of Villers-au-Tertre, near Lille, where Cottrez once lived.

Police tracked the previous occupants to another house in the vicinity where they found the bodies of six more children hidden at that property.

Cottrez, who has two grown daughters with her husband Pierre-Marie, is said to have been “systematically killing her babies since 1988.” Two of the bodies discovered had been hidden in the first house for more than 20 years.

If convicted on the charges, Cottrez faces a life term in prison while her husband, Pierre-Marie Cottrez, a 47-year old carpenter, was allowed to walk free under judicial control as Cottrez says he knows knowing of the killings or her burying the bodies.

The London Telegraph reported that Cottrez has admitted to killing the children because she "didn’t want any more children and didn’t want to see a doctor about getting a means of contraception".

She is severely overweight and said that, combined with her fear of doctors, contributed to her decision to kill the infants.

"The mother knew she was pregnant … she didn’t want any more children and didn’t want any doctors involved," said French prosecutor Eric Vaillant, adding her first pregnancy had been a terrible experience.

Cottrez has two other daughters in their 20s and she reportedly suffocated the newborns shortly after birth and buried them in plastic bags.

Local residents of the small village are in shock over what has happened.

"I’m thinking of all the children in the world," said local priest Father Robert Meignotte after lighting the candles. "I’m thinking of all the children who didn’t ask to be born and were thrown out a few hours later. You don’t just throw children out like that in a big bag. It’s incomprehensible."

 

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