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15/08/2008
Young Mother Admits Concealing Babies' Deaths
A 21-year-old woman has admitted concealing the birth and burial of her two babies.
Kerry Ardis, from Poole Park Road, Barne Barton, admitted two counts of endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a child.
Her daughter's body was found in a wardrobe in 2005 and her son's remains were recovered from the garden in June 2008.
The court heard that the human remains were found inside shoeboxes at her father's property in Ronald Terrace, in 2005 and again this year at the bottom of the garden.
It is understood the 21-year-old had been staying at her parents when her father found a baby's decomposed remains at the bottom of a bedroom wardrobe.
Ardis will be sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on September 12 following psychiatric reports. It is understood Ardis is receiving psychiatric treatment.
Leading the investigation, Acting Detective Inspector Barry Walter said when the first baby was found, it was decided that it was not in the public interest to bring a prosecution and said that it was an "upsetting one-off incident".
DI Walter said Ardis claimed that both babies were stillborn and police forensic teams have to assume this unless they can prove otherwise.
"Because of the decomposed state of the babies there are only limited tests that we can do to establish the cause of death," he said.
It is understood the babies have different fathers and neither knew of the births.
DI Walter added: "These incidents have caused a huge amount of distress for a number of people connected to Kerry, none more so than the fathers of the two babies who only recently found out about the babies' existence".
"We hope the healing process can now begin for the various members of her family and for the two fathers."
(DS/KMcA)
Kerry Ardis, from Poole Park Road, Barne Barton, admitted two counts of endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a child.
Her daughter's body was found in a wardrobe in 2005 and her son's remains were recovered from the garden in June 2008.
The court heard that the human remains were found inside shoeboxes at her father's property in Ronald Terrace, in 2005 and again this year at the bottom of the garden.
It is understood the 21-year-old had been staying at her parents when her father found a baby's decomposed remains at the bottom of a bedroom wardrobe.
Ardis will be sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court on September 12 following psychiatric reports. It is understood Ardis is receiving psychiatric treatment.
Leading the investigation, Acting Detective Inspector Barry Walter said when the first baby was found, it was decided that it was not in the public interest to bring a prosecution and said that it was an "upsetting one-off incident".
DI Walter said Ardis claimed that both babies were stillborn and police forensic teams have to assume this unless they can prove otherwise.
"Because of the decomposed state of the babies there are only limited tests that we can do to establish the cause of death," he said.
It is understood the babies have different fathers and neither knew of the births.
DI Walter added: "These incidents have caused a huge amount of distress for a number of people connected to Kerry, none more so than the fathers of the two babies who only recently found out about the babies' existence".
"We hope the healing process can now begin for the various members of her family and for the two fathers."
(DS/KMcA)
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