Paris , France ( CNN ) -- A woman has been charged over the discovery of the bodies of eight newborn babies at two locations in northern France , the French Interior Ministry said Thursday . Gendarmes found the remains in the village of Villers-au-Tertre , south of Lille , some in a home and others in the garden of another home . The woman has admitted giving birth to and killing the babies and has been charged with voluntary manslaughter , prosecutor Eric Vaillant said . But her husband has not been charged after telling investigators he knew nothing of the pregnancies and deaths , he said . The couple are in their mid-forties . The woman is a nursing assistant while her husband is a member of the local council , a neighbor told AFP . `` These are attractive , helpful , polite and courteous people , who did nothing to make you think them capable of anything abnormal , '' he said . Another resident said the couple had two grown-up daughters and were grandparents , AFP said . The pair had lived in the village for at least 15 years , neighbors said . Former mayor Daniel Collignon said Villers-au-Tertre was a quiet , rural community . `` I 'm still in shock , '' he told AFP . Police said a man digging in his backyard found the remains of two newborn children and called police . The man said he bought the home from another couple who live a few minutes ' drive away . When police searched the couple 's home with sniffer dogs they found the bodies of six infants , they said . Psychotherapist Lucy Beresford told CNN that very little was known about the circumstances of infanticide because it was a taboo subject . Research suggested that women who denied or concealed their pregnancies , for whatever reason , were a `` high-risk '' group , she said . But other factors could trigger infanticide as well . `` It could actually be to do with the social isolation of the mother , or it could be their psychopathology prior to pregnancy , '' Beresford told CNN . `` For example , do they have a history of substance abuse or other mental health concerns that have contributed to them being in this situation which they can not accept as a reality ? '' Postnatal depression could also be a possible contributory factor , she said . `` That could be because when they 're depressed they 're not really of sound mind . It could be that they genuinely believe they are unworthy to be a parent . Or it could just be the level of disordered thinking that comes with being depressed . '' CNN 's Phil Black contributed to this report .
The bodies of eight infants were found in village in northern France . Woman charged with voluntary manslaughter . Neighbors say couple are in their mid-40s ; Former mayor `` shocked ''