German mother admits to deaths of eight babies

Coburg district court in southern Germany heard on Tuesday that the defendant, identified only as Andrea G., wrapped the babies up in towels and hid them, regardless of whether they showed signs of life or not.

The woman's attorney, Till Wagler, said his client couldn't remember exactly how many babies she had killed by asphyxiation.

Quadruple murder charge

The 45-year-old mother was arrested by German authorities last year after the remains were found in plastic bags in a house in the town of Wallenfels.

The mother-of-five is charged with the murder of four of the eight babies. Due to the severe state of decomposition of the other four bodies, prosecutors said they couldn't establish whether those infants were actually born alive.

Having failed to prevent the deaths, her 55-year-old husband, Johann G., is also charged with being an accessory to murder.

'Sexual selfishness'

The couple has three living children, with each also having two from previous marriages. According to prosecutors, between 2003 and 2013, the pair continued to have unprotected sexual relations, despite wanting no more children.

Prosecutors accuse the pair of "sexual selfishness, indifference and callousness" in their handling of the subsequent pregnancies.

The couple had separated and left the house shortly before the discovery was made last November. At the time, Wallenfels Mayor Jens Korn said residents were "stunned" by the crime.

A verdict is currently scheduled for July 20.

ksb/msh (AFP, AP dpa)