Dominique Cottrez

Who is Dominique Cottrez?

Dominique Cottrez is a French woman who admitted killing 8 of her newborn infants. In July 2010, two of the bodies were discovered in plastic bags by new owners working in the garden of a house Dominique and her husband, Pierre-Marie Cottrez, previously occupied. When police contacted the Cottrez family to question them about the discoveries, Dominique immediately admitted that the bodies belonged to two infants she had given birth to. She also told police that six more infants' bodies were hidden in the garage. All were born over an approximately 17-year period between 1989 and 2006 or 2007.

French prosecutors announced on July 29, 2010 that Dominique had been indicted on murder charges. Her husband was questioned by a judge but has not been charged at this time. Prosecutors believe he may have been unaware of the infants because Dominique's obesity concealed the pregnancies.

In August 2012, Dominique was released by an appeals court in the town of Douai on condition that she continues to receive psychological and psychiatric care.

Dominique and Pierre-Marie Cottrez are also the parents of two adult daughters.