French Woman Charged in 3 Newborn Deaths
Pastor Dale Morgan
French Woman Charged in 3 Newborn Deaths*
Friday August 24, 2007 8:16 PM
By CAROLE BIANCHI
Associated Press Writer
ALBERTVILLE, France (AP) - A woman was jailed on preliminary murder
charges Friday after her ex-partner found the bodies of her three
newborn babies in her French Alps home, two of them tucked in a trunk
and a third in a box holding a fake Christmas tree.
The former partner alerted police, who searched Virginie Labrosse's home
in Albertville on Wednesday and detained her. The babies - a boy, a girl
and one whose gender has not been determined - were born in 2001, 2003
and 2006.
Police said Labrosse, 36, admitted the babies were hers. Investigators
were trying to determine how they died and why she preserved their
bodies at home. Autopsies were expected Saturday.
The case had echoes of another recent case, in which a Frenchwoman was
accused of killing three of her newborn babies, burning one in a
fireplace and hiding the other two in a freezer. In both cases, nobody
close to the woman is believed to have realized she was pregnant.
The prosecutor's office said Labrosse had an elaborate system for hiding
the bodies from her former partner until she moved out of the house Aug.
2. She allegedly preserved the bodies in a freezer while she was at
home. Whenever she left, she is believed to have hidden them elsewhere
in isothermal bags to protect the bodies from heat and cold.
When she moved out, Labrosse is believed to have moved them to a
basement storage space, where they were decomposing when the partner
found them.
Labrosse was ordered to remain jailed Friday on preliminary charges of
murdering minors, said her lawyer, Michel Jugnet.
The former partner, a 40-year-old plumber, was questioned and released
without charge on Friday. Her current partner, a 20-year-old man, was
also questioned and released.
Labrosse, who worked a temporary job at Albertville City Hall,
``acknowledged that the three children were those of her former
partner,'' state prosecutor Henry-Michel Perret told reporters.
But he said questions remained about her statement because the plumber
was in prison at the time of her first pregnancy, for a sexual assault
against a minor.
``That could have played a role in her decision not to keep the child,''
said Perret. ``Why did she keep them (the bodies)? That's the mystery of
this case.''
Under French law, preliminary charges mean an investigating judge has
determined there is strong evidence to suggest involvement in a crime.
The filing gives the magistrate time to pursue an investigation that can
result in a trial or the dropping of charges.
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Associated Press Writer Philippine Boudet in Paris contributed to this
report.