Rampant Abuse and Murders of Children

[Jezreel]

Heartless bitch!!

DES MOINES, Iowa — An Iowa woman accused of killing her newborn twin daughters after giving birth at home was ordered held Wednesday on $1 million bond.

Jackie Burkle, 22, of Huxley, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of her newborn twins last week. She made her initial court appearance Wednesday and was being held in the Story County jail. A telephone message left for her attorney was not immediately returned.

Police found the infants’ bodies Saturday in the trunk of Burkle’s car, parked in front of her home, across the street from the police department in the town of about 2,800 people, about 20 miles north of Des Moines.

According to court records, police went to the duplex where Burkle lived after receiving a call to check on her.

Court records show Burkle was seen Jan. 5 at work and “appeared to be pregnant.” She was seen at work two days later and did not appear to be pregnant “with a completely different appearance.”

Police have released few details but said Wednesday that Burkle lived her with parents. A telephone message left at a number for a listing at the same address was not immediately returned.

Burkle’s family issued a statement Wednesday afternoon asking for privacy.

“The events of the past few days have been incredibly devastating,” her family said. “This is only the beginning of a very long and painful process. However, the family of Jackie Burkle does not have any comment at this time.”

A woman who said she is the manager of the Casey’s General Store, a convenience store where police said Burkle worked, declined comment.

Huxley Police Chief Mark Pote said Burkle is not married and that investigators were working to identity the children’s father. Burkle has no other children, he said.

Neighbors and “several people” who were interviewed by police did not report hearing or seeing anything unusual, Pote said.

He declined to provide any details about how the children died or the condition of their bodies when they were found. It also was unknown why Burkle gave birth at home, Pote said.

“There’s going to be a lot of unanswered questions for everyone, including law enforcement, for a while,” the chief said.

Bill Walljasper, a spokesman for Casey’s General Store, said a co-worker of Burkle’s called police after noticing a physical change in her appearance and became concerned about her health.

He said Burkle, who had worked at the store for more than six months, was scheduled to work the day police were called. She had come into the store but Walljasper said he didn’t know if she came in to work or as a customer. The store is only a few blocks from Burkle’s home.

“It’s a very tragic event,” he said. “It’s a very hard one to cope with.”

Autopsies were performed Monday but final results, including lab tests, will not be available for four to six weeks.

Michael Motsinger, special agent in charge with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said the infants survived the birth but he did not know if they were full-term.

Court records show when police arrived at her home Burkle agreed to go to a hospital and have a blood test that indicated she had been recently pregnant. She acknowledged she gave birth to twins and told officers where to find the bodies.

She also acknowledged that she “acted or committed certain acts to terminate the lives” of the babies on Jan. 6, court records show.

Motsinger declined to elaborate on how the infants were killed, citing the ongoing investigation.

A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Jan. 20. If convicted of first-degree murder, Burkle would face a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.