A 24-year-old Vancouver woman has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of her two newborn sons.
Both were born less than a year apart and were allegedly discarded shortly after birth, police announced Wednesday.
Neighbours found Sarah Jee Wah Leung’s first baby dead and wrapped in a plastic bag between her parents’ home on Charles Street in April 2009.
In March of this year, she gave birth at home to another son whose body has not been recovered and is believed to be in a Vancouver landfill.
“Few incidents are more tragic than the death of a child but when that death is allegedly at the hands of the mother, it is unimaginable,” said Deputy Chief Warren Lemcke.
“When it is two children, it is incomprehensible.”
Lemcke said neither police nor Leung’s family knew she was pregnant with the second baby, and if they had known they would likely have alerted the Ministry of Children and Family Development.
“Investigators worked tirelessly in close consultation with Crown Counsel for 14 months to bring this case to a close,” he said. “Leung turned herself in … upon learning of the charges.
Lemcke wouldn’t say how the babies died or Leung’s alleged motives.
“An investigation of this scope and duration is not only complex but involves the expertise of professionals outside the police department,” he said.
“I would like to recognize the lead investigators on this case, a case that took an emotional toll on even the most seasoned officers.”
