Two of three newborn babies found buried in yard in Gauteng

A mother from Hammanskraal who gave birth to triplets is facing charges of concealment of birth and defeating the ends of justice after allegedly burying two of her babies in a shallow grave at home.

A postmortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death, police spokesperson Brig Brenda Muridili said.

One of the babies was believed to have been stillborn while the other died after two days.

Muridili said upon giving birth on March 8 the 32-year-old woman, allegedly with assistance from her 51-year-old mother, buried the stillborn baby in a shallow grave in their yard.

“Two days later the second baby died and he was also buried in a shallow grave,” she said.

The police in Temba responded to a concealment of birth incident at a house in Unit 7 on Friday after a visit by the department of health’s home-based care officials.

She said officials were alerted by community members that a woman had given birth at home and she did not register the baby with the home affairs department.

“The police’s crime scene investigation team was called to the scene on March 16. The remains of the two babies, a boy and a girl, were exhumed and taken to the government mortuary.

“The woman and her remaining child, a girl, have been taken to hospital for medical attention.”

The grandmother may also face charges of defeating the ends of justice, she said.

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