German 'babykiller' sentenced 15 years 01/06/2006 00:00

FRANKFURT-AN-DER-ODER, Germany - A German woman who left nine of her 13 children to die soon after birth was convicted Thursday of manslaughter, a year after the tiny skeletons were found buried in the dried-out soil of old planters.

The woman, Sabine Hilschenz, 40, who has raised four children, was sentenced to 15 years in jail. She declined to testify at her trial. But DNA tests showed she and her husband were the parents of the babies, whose remains were found a year ago in the small town of Brieskow-Finkenheerd.

The state court in Frankfurt-an-der-Oder, on the border with Poland, declined a prosecution request to find her guilty of murder, but convicted her on eight counts of manslaughter. One death was too long ago to prosecute.

Prosecutors told the court the woman had repeatedly given birth between 1992 and 1998 and simply left the newborns with no warmth and nourishment so that they died. They were buried in buckets, an old fish-tank and other vessels used for growing flowers on balconies.

Defence lawyers had said before the verdict they would appeal if she was convicted on all eight counts.

DPA

Subject: German News