A fourth deceased infant has been found inside the rental home of a Pennsylvania woman.
Per the Pennsylvania State Police, new charges have been filed against 39-year-old Jessica Mauthe after authorities discovered a deceased infant in a Cadogan Township home.
The charges against her include criminal homicide, involuntary manslaughter, four counts of concealing a death, and four counts of corpse abuse.
As previously covered by CrimeOnline, while cleaning the Oak Avenue home earlier this month, homeowner Brent Flanigan found a trash bag emitting a foul smell in the closet.
Flanigan said he often had to push the defendant to pay rent, and evicted her in August after nearly a year of non-payment.
“The odor was overwhelming. When we opened the bag, it contained towels. Using a stick, we moved the towels aside and realized it was rotting and decomposing, something that wasn’t an animal,” Flanigan informed Pittsburgh’s Channel 11.
He contacted South Buffalo Police; the police subsequently brought in Pennsylvania state troopers.
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Troopers later found two containers in the attic; one held a trash bag containing a deceased infant wrapped in a towel. The second container had a trash bag with a bucket holding another deceased infant, also wrapped in a towel, as reported by the Leader Times.
Mauthe purportedly confessed to authorities that she had given birth to the first infant around six years ago. She recalled hearing “whimpering” before losing consciousness, CBS News reports.
She woke up to find the baby dead, according to what she told police. Mauthe said she wrapped the infant in a towel.
Mauthe reportedly admitted giving birth to two more infants in her bathroom. She allegedly admitted to suffocating one baby with a towel after the infant made noises, then suffocating the other one the same way.
The Indiana County Coroner’s Office will determine the official death causes for all four infants.
Meanwhile, neighbor Carmen Felix told TRIB live that the defendant mostly kept to herself, living with her two young sons and a roommate.
Mauthe’s boys, ages 6 and 8, are now staying with extended family members.
Her husband, Jacob Mauthe, is currently behind bars at SCI Laurel Highlands. He was convicted of endangering the welfare of children, along with a DUI, in 2024.
Mauthe remains at the Armstrong County Jail without bond. Her preliminary hearing will take place on September 30.
Anyone with information on the case should contact Pennsylvania State Police at 724-543-2011.
[Feature Photo: Armstrong County jail]
