A horrifying scene greeted law enforcement officers when a landlord reported finding a deceased infant at a tenant’s residence. Shockingly, this discovery was just the beginning.
Recently, a lifeless baby was found at the dwelling of Jessica Mauthe, a 39-year-old tenant who had been living there for an extended period. The infant was wrapped in towels and garbage bags, hidden in a closet. Mauthe, who appeared in court for her preliminary hearing last week, was arrested after the grim finding. Upon arrival at the residence, officers uncovered the bodies of three more newborns concealed in tote bags and buckets in the attic.
During her court appearance before District Judge J. Gary DeComo in western Pennsylvania, Mauthe pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal homicide, involuntary manslaughter, concealing the death of a child, and abusing a corpse as per court records.
According to a Pennsylvania State trooper’s testimony, the homicide charges pertain to the most recent child Mauthe delivered approximately 18 months ago, while the manslaughter charges relate to her first child born around six years ago.
Mauthe reportedly provided details about each of the four children, all born in the bathroom. She claimed the first baby emitted a sound before she lost consciousness, waking up to find the infant deceased beneath her. Information on the second and third babies remains unclear, with no confirmation of whether they were born alive or stillborn. Mauthe alleged that the third child, identified as “Baby C,” did not make any noise after birth in the toilet. The fourth child, also delivered in the toilet, was purportedly killed by Mauthe.
In a probable cause affidavit, police described how Mauthe wrapped the fourth child in a towel after giving birth in the toilet until it stopped making noises.
Mauthe confessed to holding the baby for 15 to 20 minutes until it ceased making sounds, uncertain if the death resulted from her firm grip or suffocation as testified by the trooper.
The defense attorney of Mauthe, Chuck Pascal, argued in court that the prosecution lacked evidence regarding the causes of the babies’ deaths, questioning the validity of Mauthe’s confessions given her post-childbirth state.
Mauthe, currently held in the Armstrong County Jail without bond, faces multiple charges with an unknown date for her next court appearance.
