Woman, 70, Given 20 Years’ Probation in 8 Infant Killings

A 70-year-old woman pleaded guilty Monday to smothering eight of her young children decades ago, but she won’t go to prison, so that researchers may learn more about why new mothers sometimes kill newborns.

Marie Noe admitted killing the children between 1949 and 1968 and was sentenced to 20 years’ probation, the first five of which must be served under home confinement. Noe also must undergo mental health treatment sessions with a psychiatrist to determine the cause of her repeated infanticide.

The light sentence had to do with “the unusual circumstances of the case and the age of the case” and Noe being the caretaker of her ailing 77-year-old husband, Arthur, Deputy Dist. Atty. Charles F. Gallagher said.

With no evidence to show otherwise, doctors and investigators had reluctantly attributed the deaths of the eight children--none of whom lived longer than 14 months--to sudden infant death syndrome.