Woman charged in case of dead infants appears in court

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This article was published 23/10/2014 (4093 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Winnipeg woman accused of hiding six dead babies inside a storage locker made a brief court appearance Thursday.

Andrea Giesbrecht, 40, didn’t speak during the court hearing, in which her case was adjourned until Nov. 12 for a likely bail hearing. She remains in custody at the Remand Centre, charged with six counts of concealing a dead child’s body along with breaching a probation order stemming from a conviction last month for defrauding an elderly neighbour.

Her lawyer, Greg Brodsky, raised concerns over the upcoming autopsies of the human remains which were discovered Monday. Brodsky is requesting the medical procedures be videotaped so he can get his own pathologist to review the findings in case.

Brodsky told the Free Press the autopsies will provide critical evidence and answers to this mystery — including the gender and identity of the babies and whether they were fetuses or full-term births.

Brodsky and police have not said whether there is any suspected link between Giesbrecht and the babies. If they aren’t hers, the obvious questions is who they belonged to and how and why Giesbrecht allegedly came into posession of the remains.

Police originally thought they were dealing with three or four corpses, but forensic examination revealed there were six infants.

“So many of the questions that I expect you have will be answered forensically. But at this time, no, we don’t have any information regarding (how they died). Our belief is that the infants were all newborns, but whether that bears out by forensic examination (remains to be seen),” Const. Eric Hofley said Wednesday.

Depending on medical evidence, charges could be upgraded to more serious offences at a later date.

“Right now, we don’t have any information regarding a homicide,” said Hofley.

Giesbrecht was arrested at her residence in the Maples.

A court-ordered pre-sentence reports paints her as an otherwise law-abiding “soccer mom” who has previously worked at St. Amant Centre and DASCH, while also volunteering her time at Siloam Mission. She is the mother of two sons, aged 12 and 16, and has been married 17 years while living in the Maples. She has a business administration degree from Red River College.

But Giesbrecht also has a major gambling addiction which has put her and her family in deep debt, court heard during her sentencing last month in which she was given two years of probation. The addiction has also put a strain on her marriage, court was told.

“It’s a perplexing case. It requires a lot more investigation by the authorities and a vigorous defence,” Brodsky told the Free Press. He said police initially cautioned Giesbrecht she may be charged with murder, but only proceeded on the concealment charges for now.

Court records show the dead babies were hidden in a locker at the U-Haul building at the corner of McPhillips Street and Elgin Avenue between March 7 and Oct. 20. They state Giesbrecht allegedly “disposed of a dead body of a child with the intent to conceal that an unknown person had been delivered of it by unknown means.”

Neighbours in the Maples were stunned by the allegations. One person described Giesbrecht, her husband and their two sons as “just another normal family” and said there was nothing suspicious or out of the ordinary about the couple. Those approached Wednesday found it difficult to believe the woman could be the focal point of the investigation.

“I feel for her family. They are likely all innocent in this,” said a man, who knows the Giesbrecht family through recreational activities in the Maples.

“Completely shocked,” said a woman, who lives across from the Giesbrechts on the quiet street and wished to remain anonymous. “I heard about the terrible story (Tuesday) and it just made me sick, and I just found out about (who was arrested) on Facebook.

“I can’t believe it. I’ve been here for 17 years and (have) known them for most of that time. I never would have guessed something like this was possible,” she said.

Further up the street, another woman was a lot more upset.

“It’s a terrible, horrible thing. That’s all I can say.”

Hofley said it could be months of forensic work before investigators have answers about how the infants died.

He was asked by a reporter whether the accused is the mother of the infants.

“That will come through forensic examination. DNA analysis will take place. It’s my understanding that is a lengthy investigation,” Hofley said. “How and at what time they were placed in that locker is all part of the investigation.”

Hofley admitted some questions may never be answered.

He said currently no other suspects are being considered, but that may change as the investigation continues.

Hofley said Giesbrecht was quickly identified by police because she was the person who rented the storage facility. On Monday, employees at the company called police after going to check on a “delinquent locker” and finding a horrific scene.

Officers arrived and found what appeared to be the remains of the babies. On Tuesday, an official with U-Haul said the company is co-operating with police.