Newborn baby found dead with limbs cut off in backpack in Paris
Hôtel Ville St Denis Seine Saint Denis
Wikimedia Commons
An unnamed 21-year-old mother has been arrested after a newborn baby was found dead and dismembered in a rucksack at her home in Paris.
The young mother reportedly gave birth in the commune of Stains, in the Seine-Saint-Denis area in the northern suburbs of the French capital.
According to police, on Sunday the woman told two of her friends that she had given birth, claiming the child to have been stillborn and threatening to dismember it.
French prosecutors said they had found the baby "dismembered, in a rucksack, in her room".
A map with Saint-Denis outlined on the outskirts of Paris
Wikimedia Commons
Investigators believe that the woman might have given birth six days earlier on July 17.
The young woman, who lives at home with her parents, was reportedly arrested for voluntary homicide on a minor under the age of 15 on Sunday.
She was then released on Monday before being transferred to a psychiatric facility where she remains in a "fragile" mental state.
FRANCE IN FOCUS:
The train station at Stains
Wikimedia Commons
The Basilica of Saint-Denis
Wikimedia Commons
French authorities are attempting to understand whether she was aware that she was pregnant and whether the young woman was suffering from a condition called denial of pregnancy.
Should the latter be the case, the woman might have subconsciously been aware of her pregnancy, but denied its existence.
Police are also investigating whether the parents of the young woman were aware of their daughter’s pregnancy, as well as the suspected infanticide.
The investigation is ongoing.
You may like
