A German woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison today after a court found her guilty of manslaughter in the deaths of her eight newborn babies, some of whom were buried in flowerpots.
Prosecutors had accused Sabine Hilschinz, a 40-year-old unemployed dental assistant from Germany's formerly communist east, of secretly giving birth and then systematically murdering eight of her babies.
Sabine Hilschinz who was sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of manslaughter. Photograph: Reuters
The presiding judge sided with the defence on the specific charge, finding her guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter because she had allowed them to die through neglect rather than actively murdering them.
"She neglected to care for the children, which was her duty," said Judge Matthias Fuchs, adding that there was no doubt the children were born alive.
Judge Fuchs said the reason she allowed the children to die was that she saw them as "a factor that could destroy her marriage."
"She wanted to maintain the picture of an idyllic family," he said.
The court rejected the defence's request for a relatively light 3-1/2 year jail term for Hilschinz and imposed the maximum sentence of 15 years for the eight deaths, which Fuchs said took place between 1992 and 1998.
A ninth baby had died in 1988 but the death was too long ago for the case to be considered by the court.
Judge Fuchs said the stiff sentence was justified by the large number of deaths involved. The state prosecutor said she was satisfied with the verdict, but the defence appealed against it.
Prosecutors had initially wanted Hilschinz to face murder charges but the court ordered the charges reduced to manslaughter because the crimes occurred against a backdrop of alcohol abuse and family problems. However, the prosecution was permitted to argue for a verdict of murder during the trial.