Authorities in Orange, France, are investigating the discovery of the remains of five infants found in cardboard boxes on Monday morning. The discovery was made by the husband of a 32-year-old woman after an argument regarding the contents of the boxes, according to reports.
The couple, who have two older children aged eight and twelve, were reportedly arguing about the boxes the day after the wife gave birth. The wife had reportedly denied being pregnant. Following the argument, she experienced abdominal pains and went to a hospital, while her husband remained at the residence. An investigating source told the Daily Mail that the husband then looked inside the boxes and found the remains.
An investigation has been opened by the Carpentras prosecutor's office. Preliminary forensic examinations, including autopsies, are scheduled to determine the exact nature of the remains and the circumstances of their deaths. No arrests have been made.
The incident has drawn comparisons to the Dominique Cottrez case from 2010, where a nursing assistant confessed to killing eight of her newborn children and hiding their bodies over nearly two decades. Cottrez was convicted in 2015 and sentenced to nine years in prison. In that case, the concealment of pregnancies was attributed to being overweight, which allowed her to hide them from her husband and doctor.
The current investigation in Orange is ongoing, with authorities awaiting medical and forensic reports to shed further light on the case.