A trial has begun for a Massachusetts woman who has been charged with murder after the bodies of three infants she had given birth to were found at her home.
WATCH: Three babies found dead in ‘house of horrors’
According to a 7 News report, Erika Murray, 35, of Blackstone, was arrested following the discovery of the bodies in September 2014.
Her arrest came after a 10-year-old boy who lived in the home asked a neighbour for help in getting a baby to stop crying.
Defence attorney Keith Halpern says there is no evidence his client committed a crime, and raised mental illness as a defence for the woman on Tuesday at Worcester Superior Court.
“There is no evidence that Ms. Murray did anything wrong or criminal to cause the death of any child,” said Halpern.
The house, where the skeletal remains of three infants were found, was littered with rubbish and faeces and was infested by insects. It has since been demolished.
Prosecutors on Tuesday said a state trooper who responded to the neighbour’s 911 call went into the home and went upstairs and opened a closet. There, they found a dead baby with the placenta still attached.
Near the infant was a dead dog in a bag and a second dead baby that was “diapered and fully clothed, but they were skeletal remains.”
Officials also found a three-year-old and five-month-old in the home. They were among the four living children who were removed from the house.
Authorities said there were no birth records for the children found in the home.
“Those children had never seen the light of day,” said the Assistant District Attorney. “They had never seen a doctor, they had never been immunised for anything. They had impaired development,” prosecutor Christopher Hodgens said .
Murray’s 13-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were born in hospitals and attended schools.
Murray was charged with murder in just two of the deaths. She has pleaded not guilty.
She waived her right to a jury trial during her appearance on Tuesday. Judge Janet Kenton-Walker will determine the verdict.
The case continues.
