Woman found with dead babies in ‘house of horrors’ pleads not guilty

By PHILIP MARCELO ASSOCIATED PRESS

11 years ago

Erika Murray stands between her lawyer Keith Halpern, left, and a court officer in the district court for her arraignment in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Sept. 12, 2014. The woman was arrested after the bodies of three dead infants were found this week in her home in Blackstone, Massachusetts. (Reuters/Paul Kapteyn/Pool)

Keith Halpern, defense attorney for Erika Murray, speaks to reporters outside the district court in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, Sept. 12, 2014, following a court appearance by Murray. The woman was arrested after the bodies of three dead infants were found this week in her home in Blackstone, Massachusetts. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)

Erika Murray Blackstone, Massachusetts, was charged with two counts of murder on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2014. She had been charged in September with crimes including fetal death concealment after police found the bodies of three dead young children in her home. (AP Photo/Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Paul Kapteyn, Pool, file)

Erika Murray is escorted into the courtroom by a court officer for her arraignment at Uxbridge District Court in Uxbridge, Mass. on Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Murray, 31, was arrested Thursday night on charges including fetal death concealment, witness intimidation and permitting substantial injury to a child. Not guilty pleas were entered Friday on her behalf. Detectives investigating a case of reckless endangerment of children found the bodies this week at the house littered with soiled diapers in Blackstone, about 50 miles southwest of Boston. (AP Photo/Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Paul Kapteyn, Pool)

Both "condemned" and "keep our" signs are attached behind police tape to the front door of a house where a Massachusetts prosecutor said the bodies of three infants were found Thursday in Blackstone, Mass., Friday, Sept. 12, 2014. Erika Murray, 31, was arrested Thursday night on charges including fetal death concealment, witness intimidation and permitting substantial injury to a child. Not guilty pleas were entered Friday on her behalf. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)

WORCESTER, Mass. — A Massachusetts woman found living with the skeletal remains of three babies in a squalid home has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder.

Erika Murray barely spoke as she was arraigned Monday in Worcester Superior Court.

The 31-year-old had originally been charged with fetal death concealment after the remains were found in her Blackstone home in September. She was indicted on the murder charges earlier this month.

She has been held on $1 million bail.

The house was infested with rodents and insects, piled high with dirty diapers and contained dead animals. Workers in hazmat suits spent days cleaning out the house, which was later demolished.

Murray’s lawyer has said she has mental health issues and said there’s no evidence she caused the babies’ deaths.