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(Katrina Irwin, WROC-TV)
Stacy DeBeer was due in Ontario County court Tuesday for a suppression hearing, but instead opted to plead guilty to second-degree murder charges.
She was arrested in February and charged with two counts of second-degree murder, accused of giving birth to children in 1998 and 2003 and then entombing the bodies in concrete and keeping them in their home.
In previous statements made to police, DeBeer said she gave birth to both babies in her home. Then she left them unattended to die and tried to hide it by burying them in concrete. She said her husband Brian helped her hide the first infant. She told police when he found out he was upset but "we felt we had to hide it."
DeBeer said she lied to him about what happened to the second child.
She told police she wanted to plead guilty and end it, which she did Tuesday.
Ontario County District Attorney Michael Tantillo says this was "one of the most disturbing cases I've ever had to prosecute. Here, unfortunately, we've had a number of children homicide cases throughout the years, but nothing like this."
As for a motive, no one knows for sure. But DeBeer told child protective services that she was overwhelmed with having kids so close in age.
DeBeer will likely face at least 30 years behind bars, a fifteen-year-to-life sentence for each child. Had she gone to trial she could have faced up to 25 years-to-life for each child.
Stacy's husband Brian is due to go on trial for hindering the prosecution in September but that could now be moved up to August.
http://www.wroctv.com/news/story.asp?iid=14138