CHERBOURG, France, March 15 (UPI) -- A French woman has admitted killing six of her newborn children in as many years and hiding the bodies in a cellar, officials say.
Celine Lesage, 38, is charged with "aggravated homicide" and faces a life sentence if convicted, The Daily Mail reported Monday.
The six babies were delivered "in secret" between 2000 and 2007, and Lesage allegedly strangled or choked them before "putting the babies and their dirty clothes neatly in a sealed plastic bag and hiding them," Cherbourg prosecutor Michel Garrandaux said.
Lesage's common-law husband, father of five of the children, had been arrested for not reporting the crimes but he successfully argued he thought the babies had been stillborn or aborted, the Mail said.
He and Lesage split up in 2006.
In 2007 a new boyfriend of Lesage, who was also the father of the sixth baby, discovered the bodies.
In admitting killing the babies, Lesage has claimed diminished responsibility, the Mail reported.
"The facts of the case are not in dispute, but there is medical and psychological evidence to consider," defense lawyer Veronique Carre said. "My client believes she is responsible, but not guilty."
