Mother pleads guilty to manslaughter in deaths of 3 newborns in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, Que.

A 28-year-old woman charged with three counts of first-degree murder forthe deaths of three of her newborn children haspleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter in a Saint-Jrme, Que.,courthouse.

The woman, who can't be named to protect the identityofa survivingchild, wasarrested in 2017. Police were contacted after the woman showed up at a hospital in a state of distress.

Police investigators found the remains of three newborn infants at the woman's home in Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac.

Authoritiesallegedthe first death occurred on Dec. 3, 2014, followed by two more deaths in February and October of 2017.

The deaths were not due to miscarriages or other issues related to herpregnancies, according to initial reports by police.

Crown Prosecutor Caroline Lafleur brought the new charges forward Wednesday morning.

"We made the decision to file the new chargesfollowing the criminal investigation, to conform to the evidence we had," Lafleur said.

Along with one count of manslaughter, the woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of concealing the body of a child and one count offailing to provide the necessaries of life a charge that relates to the child who is still alive, Lafleur explained.

The court has ordered the woman toundergo a psychiatric evaluation, and hersentencing hearing is set for Oct. 25.