This image is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is not directly related to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

The remains of five newborns have been found inside cardboard boxes at a home in southern France.

Prosecutors in Carpentras said Tuesday night that five infant remains were discovered at an apartment in Orange, in the southern Vaucluse department, and that a murder investigation had been opened, according to AFP and other media reports.

A 32-year-old woman identified only as A had given birth to a baby boy at the apartment on Sunday before being taken to hospital complaining of abdominal pain. Her partner, a 32-year-old man identified as B, discovered the remains while she was hospitalized — wrapped in plastic bags and divided among cardboard boxes.

French outlet Le Parisien, citing investigators, reported that A had denied being pregnant on three separate occasions. Prosecutors said B told investigators he "had no knowledge of any possibility that A was pregnant."

A forensic expert concluded that the remains appeared to belong to five newborns. Further autopsies are planned.

A remains hospitalized. Prosecutors said she had not been arrested or questioned. The couple have two other children, aged 8 and 9, and child welfare authorities are monitoring the situation. A temporary foster care order has been issued for the newborn boy pending the outcome of the case.

France has seen similar cases before. In March, a 44-year-old woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison after the bodies of two newborns were found in a freezer at her home. In 2015, a woman was tried and sentenced to prison for killing eight newborns and hiding their bodies in her garden and garage.


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