Breaking: Couple charged in French Court over deaths of eight newborn babies

The woman, the mother of the babies, faces charges of voluntary homicide of the babies. Her husband faces charges of concealing the bodies and the non-reporting of crimes.

Yesterday, police with sniffer dogs searched two houses in Villers-au-Tertre, near Lille, after the new owners of a house in the commuter village called them following the discovery of remains in the garden.

The house belonged to the father of the arrested woman.

Police then conducted searches in another house in the village, that of the arrested couple, where the bodies of more babies were found.

The remains found in the first house were wrapped in plastic.

The couple were said to be in their mid-40s and had grown-up children and grandchildren. The woman worked as a nursing assistant and her husband was a member of the local council.

"He's on his third term in office. He used to volunteer in the community. He's a respectable man," local mayor Patrick Mercier was quoted as saying.