French mother jailed for killing six babies

A mother has been jailed for 15 years after admitting that she murdered six of her babies as soon as they were born.

"Yes, I killed the babies," said Celine Lesage, 38, at the court in Cherbourg. "I did it but I can't explain why."

The court heard how she gave birth in secret with a small cord next to her. She used it to strangle two of her children and choked four others by placing her finger in their mouths. The babies were born between 2000 and 2007.

Lesage was arrested in 2007 after her partner at the time, Luc Margueritte, discovered the corpses in plastic garbage bags in the basement of their apartment building in Valognes, south of Cherbourg. He was the father of the last child.

Lesage has a 14-year-old son who was taken into care following her arrest two years ago.

She was deemed to be suffering from severe psychological problems which meant she was in denial about being pregnant.