Mom accused of killing newborn twins, police say
http://dervishcom.blogspot.com/2012/01/mom-accused-of-killing-newborn-twins.html
NEVADA, Iowa – A woman deliberately killed her two newborn girls not long after giving birth last week and left them in the trunk of her vehicle, authorities say.
Jackie Burkle, 22, of Huxley, Iowa, appeared in court Wednesday after her arrest Tuesday on charges of two counts of first-degree murder. Bond was set at $500,000 on each of the two counts. If convicted, she will spend the rest of her life in prison.
Burkle admitted killing the children, police said in a criminal complaint. No information has been presented about how far along she was in the pregnancy when she gave birth, how long the babies were alive before they died, or where Burkle was when she gave birth.
"The defendant further admitted that she intended to end their lives and was not at any time intending that they would live," Huxley Police Chief Mark Pote wrote in his complaint.
Investigators said they believe Burkle killed the twin girls around 7:30 a.m. Friday. Police went to Burkle's apartment the next morning after a co-worker told authorities that the woman had appeared pregnant at work Thursday but did not look pregnant Saturday. Authorities haven't said where Burkle works.
After receiving the tip, officers spoke with Burkle, who agreed to go to the hospital for a blood test, which showed she had recently been pregnant, according to the complaint.
During a second interview, Burkle told investigators where she had put the two bodies, and police found the twins dead in the trunk.
The state medical examiner's office performed autopsies Monday, but will not release final results until pending laboratory tests that could take four to six weeks.
A large hand-lettered sign on the front door of the two-story brick duplex where Burkle lives admonishes, "Private Property. If this were your family, you wouldn't want you here either. Please respect our privacy."
Iowa has a safe-haven law that grants immunity from prosecution to parents who leave unwanted babies up to 14 days old in the care of health facilities. More than a dozen people have done so.
It was spurred by the death of a child who became known as "Baby Chelsea."
Nicole Plum, a Chelsea, Iowa, teenager, spent three years in prison after abandoning her infant girl in the snow near the city's water tower, where the baby was found dead in February 2001.
Plum, who was 17 when she gave birth, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for felony child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. She was granted parole in 2005.
Jackie Burkle, 22, of Huxley, Iowa, appeared in court Wednesday after her arrest Tuesday on charges of two counts of first-degree murder. Bond was set at $500,000 on each of the two counts. If convicted, she will spend the rest of her life in prison.
Burkle admitted killing the children, police said in a criminal complaint. No information has been presented about how far along she was in the pregnancy when she gave birth, how long the babies were alive before they died, or where Burkle was when she gave birth.
"The defendant further admitted that she intended to end their lives and was not at any time intending that they would live," Huxley Police Chief Mark Pote wrote in his complaint.
Investigators said they believe Burkle killed the twin girls around 7:30 a.m. Friday. Police went to Burkle's apartment the next morning after a co-worker told authorities that the woman had appeared pregnant at work Thursday but did not look pregnant Saturday. Authorities haven't said where Burkle works.
After receiving the tip, officers spoke with Burkle, who agreed to go to the hospital for a blood test, which showed she had recently been pregnant, according to the complaint.
During a second interview, Burkle told investigators where she had put the two bodies, and police found the twins dead in the trunk.
The state medical examiner's office performed autopsies Monday, but will not release final results until pending laboratory tests that could take four to six weeks.
A large hand-lettered sign on the front door of the two-story brick duplex where Burkle lives admonishes, "Private Property. If this were your family, you wouldn't want you here either. Please respect our privacy."
Iowa has a safe-haven law that grants immunity from prosecution to parents who leave unwanted babies up to 14 days old in the care of health facilities. More than a dozen people have done so.
It was spurred by the death of a child who became known as "Baby Chelsea."
Nicole Plum, a Chelsea, Iowa, teenager, spent three years in prison after abandoning her infant girl in the snow near the city's water tower, where the baby was found dead in February 2001.
Plum, who was 17 when she gave birth, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for felony child endangerment and involuntary manslaughter. She was granted parole in 2005.
