Charges in dead babies case; neighbors soul-search By JENNIFER - TopicsExpress

Charges in dead babies case; neighbors soul-search By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and DENISE LAVOIEAssociated Press BLACKSTONE, Mass. (AP) – A woman who lived in a squalid, vermin-infested home where the bodies of three infants were found was charged Friday with covering up the deaths, while neighbors said they wish they had acted themselves to call attention to the house with the foul smell and the shades that were always drawn. Erika Murray, 31, was arraigned on charges including fetal death concealment, witness intimidation and permitting substantial injury to a child. But basic facts remain a mystery or arent being explained by authorities. Among them: why it took authorities so long to search the home even after removing four other children from it last month; whether the babies were newborns or fetuses; whether the woman was the mother of all the children; the nature of a 2007 report of abuse or neglect at the house that was not deemed a problem; and the identity of a man who also lived there. A search by crews in hazmat suits for any more remains continued at the house even as not-guilty pleas were entered for Murray in nearby Uxbridge. A court-appointed defender suggested she was mentally ill. “You want answers in [...] geogianews/charges-in-dead-babies-case-neighbors-soul-search/