American mother describes being trapped with children in France wildfires
American mother Rebecca Papin has described the fear of being caught with her two young children as fast-moving wildfires tore through southwest France, where more than 220,000 people have already been ordered to leave their homes. Papin said the blaze appeared with frightening speed, leaving her family scrambling for safety and basic supplies.
In a separate case in France, prosecutors said a man found what are believed to be the remains of five newborn babies concealed in cardboard boxes at his home after his partner delivered a baby at the property and was later taken to hospital.
According to prosecutors, the man became alarmed after realizing very late that his partner was pregnant, something she had repeatedly denied. The couple, who already share two children aged eight and nine, then became the focus of an investigation.
The 32-year-old woman, whose name has not been released, had allegedly been arguing with her husband on Monday about the contents of boxes inside their home in the town of Orange. The dispute came one day after she reportedly gave birth at home to a baby boy.
During the argument, the woman began complaining of abdominal pain and was taken to a hospital for treatment. Her husband remained at the house, where he later opened the boxes and discovered the suspected remains.
A man in France reportedly found five deceased babies inside cardboard boxes at his home following a dispute with his wife. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
The 32-year-old man then alerted authorities through the hospital where the woman was receiving care for her pain, officials said.
An investigative source told The US Sun that the husband stayed at the property after the woman was transported to hospital and decided to inspect the cardboard boxes at the center of their argument. Inside, the source said, he found the bodies of five babies, all in a state of decomposition and believed to have been there for some time.
Police searched the couple’s home, and prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into suspected murder on Monday.
Prosecutors opened a criminal investigation into suspected murder on Monday. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
A forensic pathologist estimated, based on initial findings, that the bones and decomposing remains belonged to five newborns.
Authorities said the remains included bones believed to belong to four newborns and the decomposing body of a fifth. Autopsies and further laboratory testing were ordered.
The man told police he was unaware of his wife’s possible pregnancies.
The public prosecutor’s office urged child welfare services to assess the health of the couple’s eight and nine-year old children. It also issued a provisional placement order for the newborn baby, pending referral of the case to a children’s court judge.
The mother, who was still in the hospital on Tuesday, has not yet spoken to investigators.
The man told police he was unaware of his wife’s possible pregnancies. (Thibaud MORITZ / AFP)
A post-mortem examination has been ordered on the decomposing remains, and the bones will undergo anthropological analysis in a laboratory, according to prosecutors.
The couple had no history of problems and were described by a neighbor as “charming people,” according to French outlet AFP.
The neighbor, Florent Jean, told the outlet that the wife was a stay-at-home mother and the husband worked. Jean said the two were “normal people, really.”
