Jessica Mauthe, from Cadogan Township, Pennsylvania, is facing multiple charges after authorities uncovered the bodies of four deceased infants in her former residence. Details have now emerged about why she was kicked out of the house, and what her landlord found when he went inside.
The investigation began when Mauthe was evicted from the home on August 14, 2025, for non-payment of rent. Her landlord, Brent Flanigan, reported finding a dead baby wrapped in plastic in a closet while cleaning the property. Subsequent searches revealed two more infants hidden in totes in the attic. A fourth set of remains was discovered shortly thereafter.
A house full of cats
Inside the home where police say 3 deceased infants were found. They have charged Jessica Mauthe. Investigators say she admitted to giving birth to them and wrapping them in trash bags. #WTAE pic.twitter.com/aqNoxLAr76
— Marcie Cipriani (@MCipriani_WTAE) September 15, 2025
The home, which had been left in disarray, also contained several abandoned cats. Neighbors reported that Mauthe had been raising her two young children alone while her husband was incarcerated. She worked about 50 hours a week at a local pizzeria, and her husband’s legal status raises questions about who fathered the deceased children.
“After her dad passed, the money stopped coming in. I don’t know that she’s ever physically paid me the rent. She would coax churches into paying the rent,” Mauthe’s landlord, Flanigan, told Pennsylvania news outlet, WPXI.
“We went into start cleaning, and that’s when we found the bag,” Flanigan added. “[The dead newborn] was wrapped up in 3-4 different garbage bags, tied tight. The smell was horrendous. We opened it up, and there were towels in there. My worker and I, we peeled the towels back with a stick, and there was just rotting, decomposing.”
Mauthe admitted she gave birth to the children
In interviews with investigators, Mauthe admitted to giving birth to all four infants in the home and concealing their bodies. She described one instance where she gave birth while sitting on the toilet, heard the baby making noises, and wrapped it in a towel until it stopped making sounds.
She then placed the body in a closet. Mauthe did not seek medical attention for any of the births and did not notify anyone of the deaths. Reports now say it’s unclear if the remaining three children were stillborn or died after their births, or if Mauthe admitted any role in killing them. Reports say autopsies are complete, but the details have not been made public.
Mauthe was arraigned on Thursday and denied bail. She faces charges including criminal homicide, involuntary manslaughter, concealing the death of a child, and abuse of a corpse. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.
